The Quest of Olympus
by Constellapeia
Summary: Gaea's awakening has caused the foundations of the Old World to crumble. With the Seven on their Great Prophecy, it's up to Thalia and the demigods of other civilizations to save the world before it's too late... -Takes place in HoO-
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Heroes of Olympus _series or _Percy Jackson & the Olympians. _:)**

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><p>Thalia Grace was a stubborn girl. A <em>very<em> stubborn girl.

For over the past two weeks she had been on the run non-stop. She had been fighting monsters everywhere with no rest. It was a miracle that she was still on her feet.

However, Thalia Grace was almost on the brink of exhaustion. Running for two weeks (or maybe more, she had lost track of time), had taken its toll. Her whole body ached and her muscles were stiff, especially her legs –oh Holy Zeus, her legs- were killing her. Well, not literally.

So here the daughter of Zeus was. Running again, this time for the last possible time. Thalia panted heavily as she pushed through the undergrowth of a small forest she had found. This forest was her only hope, her _only chance_, of contacting her sisters and her Lady.

Ever since Jason had been found and the unfortunate event when her cousin, Percy Jackson, disappeared, her life had been in turmoil. Of course, having Jason back was a miracle in its least. She had thought he was dead! Oh, how she had missed him terribly.

Percy, on the other hand, was a Seaweed Brain. He had disappeared after kissing Annabeth goodnight. Surely Annabeth's kisses weren't _that _bad.

Swatting a fly off her arm, Thalia felt pretty well sick. _Maybe I should rest for a while,_ she thought tiredly.

Slowing her pace, she looked around for a good sleeping spot. Thalia found one behind a clump of well-dense bushes. _Ah, rest._ She slowly let herself sink into oblivion, ignoring the twigs and leaf litter poking her back. She, the great Thalia Grace, daughter of the almighty powerful Zeus, had given up.

She sighed tiredly. Thalia had had enough of this running around and hiding. She had had enough of this fighting until she was all sore and exhausted. Especially ever since the monsters started forming back together again after they were killed. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up to find that everything was a dream.

You see, after the battle against the Titans, everything went haywire. Of course there were a few months of peace when the whole world was quiet. Something happened though. After the battle against Kronos and when he was sent to Tartarus, he had unknowingly (Thalia presumed) caused Gaea to stir from her sleep. _This _was a problem, but not the main problem.

Gaea was not- _is_ not- supposed to wake up. Her slumber was meant to be forever since the age of the primordial gods rule had ended ages ago. Now, the Western civilisation is ruled by Zeus.

Through Gaea's awakening however, Gaea had caused some other primordial gods and monsters to stir from their slumber, too.

Also, since Gaea is, theoretically speaking, "Mother Earth", her slow movements in the Earth which she will make when she rises, will be disastrous. They will cause many of the world's invisible divine barriers to crumble down.

These divine barriers are, as said, invisible. They are the walls that separate each divine kingdom from another – like Olympus is the home of the Greek deities, which is situated in New York, where the Western civilisation is in power. On the other hand, other gods, for example the Egyptians gods are situated in wherever their culture is the most powerful. Therefore, if each and every wall slowly crumbled, chaos would ensue – all the gods of each religion and such would be able to cross into another's kingdom. This would result in fights for more territory to control and rule in. And if this ever happened, the fight would be a huge war, bigger than that ever fought within the Big Three.

Thalia frowned in her sleep. Thinking about this gave her a mighty headache. She erased all thoughts of her current predicament and fell into a deep sleep, coloured with dreams...

_There was a bright meadow. It was filled with all her friends from Camp Half-Blood, those alive and those that had passed on. Thalia stared at them and spotted Luke among the crowd. Her heart gave a painful lurch but she ignored it. She waved to her friends but the crowd seemed to look beyond her, as if she weren't there._

"_Guys? Yoo-hoo! I'm here!" She called, waving her arms furiously above her head like some demented chicken._

_They continued ignoring her until Travis Stoll (without a smile or smirk on his face, which was quite peculiar) raised one hand and pointed at something behind her._

_The camper's faces began to twist and contort into expressions of fear. Their mouths formed words and screams but Thalia heard nothing come out of their mouths._

_Feeling nervousness and curiosity brew inside of her, she turned around and gasped. The image of what she saw was horrendous._

_Across the lovely meadow was a bleak grey and black world. Cities were torn apart and deserted, possibly left to rot. Buildings, houses and schools, all destroyed and slowly decaying. And what of the people? Dead. Piled and piles of bodies, lined up in a neat row._

_In the heart of all this destruction were four divine beings, one of which she recognised immediately. There, within the city battling with his lightning bolt held aloft was her father, Zeus. Thalia wasn't the least surprised when she realised that even though Zeus was in the middle of a ferocious battle, he looked immaculate as usual, with not a hair out of place._

_The other gods (Thalia assumed they were gods, as they didn't blast to pieces when battling her father) were dressed differently to one another._

_One god was fighting with vigour, as if he enjoyed this particular battle. His expression made Thalia shiver. Another god was a very old looking man. He was fighting with only a sword. His fighting movements were fluid and graceful._

_These gods were all unknown to Thalia, except for the fourth and last god. He looked Egyptian, with kohl lined eyes and wearing a strange hat thingy. What was it called again? Oh, right. A Pharaoh's headdress. Thalia let out a small smile in the recognition of something. See? She had paid _some _attention in class._

_Thalia turned away from the horrific scene to face a tall blonde boy with striking blue eyes. Her eyes. Their father's eyes._

"_Don't give up, Thals." He said, his eyes boring into her. Jason Grace looked oddly serious. "Wake up and don't give up so soon."_

With those words being said, Thalia's eyes flew open just in time to hear a loud screech and the sound of feet thundering towards her location.

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><p><strong>AN: Hello :] So this is our (Gwen [Fruttie Fromage] and I) first story that has been uploaded on here.**

**To those who like fast updates, sorry in advance. Gwen and I only meet up on weekends, we're kinda too busy at school and after school.**

**Review? :] -hopeful face-**

**Thank you to my sis, Tabby, for editing/beta-ing.**

**~ Skye & Gwen. Xx**

**[If you have any questions, either PM me or Gwen :] ]**


	2. No Place Like Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. If I did, I'd be famous! :]**

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><p>As soon as she woke up, Thalia crouched down low. She tensed up all her muscles so she could spring up from her resting spot, ready to fight.<p>

From her spot she could see the monster clearly. The evening moon shone a beam on a head filled with thick wriggling worms. Thalia knew they weren't worms though. They were vipers, she guessed. However she didn't want to get too close to find out.

Creeping around the edges of the bush in front of her, she carefully removed one of her hunting knives from its sheaf. Her Lady, Artemis, had given two special knives to her in commemoration of her "birthday." These special knives allowed Thalia to conduct electricity within them, much like her spear. Thalia adored her knives. They had a special silver leather handle and the blade was double sided: One side was serrated and the other was so fine, deadly and sharp it could slice through the thinnest silk fabric.

She quickly charged one knife with electricity, feeling the flow leave her fingers to go to the tip of the sharp blade. The blade glowed a brilliant blue hue, slightly crackling.

Whilst waiting for the blade to charge to its maximum power, she observed the creature.

She was an old wrinkly thing with large scaly rooster feet, bat wings and a pair of huge bronze boar tusks protruding from the corners of her mouth. Thalia recognised what type of monster it was easily. She had remembered it from old picture books her school had shown her. The monster was a gorgon, a loud, noisy screeching gorgon.

The gorgon turned around slowly to face Thalia's direction. This was Thalia's cue, the right moment for her to strike.

Throwing her blade with precision, Thalia's aim was true, showing the precise aim of a Hunter. With a soft _thunk_ the blade sliced cleanly through the middle of the gorgon's chest.

The gorgon didn't even blink. It didn't seem to notice the blade or the fierce jolt of electricity that was let out upon impact. Instead, she gave a wide toothy grin, flashing her rotting teeth. Then with ease she wrenched the blade out of her flesh with a horrible squelching sound.

Thalia reacted upon instinct. Because the gorgon seemed completely fine after Thalia's meant to be killing shot, she knew Thalia's exact position. Thalia quickly pulled her Mace canister out of her belt and lunged towards the gorgon. She quickly tapped her bracelet Aegis and watched as it expanded ever so slowly. Hopefully her shield would distract the monster.

Luckily, it did. Half way through the lunge, the gorgon froze at the sight of her sister's head on the bronze shield. Even though it was an engraving on an inanimate object, Medusa's face had that kind of effect on people and monsters alike.

Taking advantage of the stunned gorgon, Thalia pulled Aegis away and using the momentum plunged her now expanded Mace canister spear through the gorgon's forehead. She twisted her spear and sent shocks of electricity through the monster.

With a final chicken like screech, the gorgon seemed to grow fatter. Her wrinkly skin stretched out and grew bubbly. She rose up into the air for a few brief moments before letting out a scream as she exploded in to golden dust, leaving behind a few pieces of grubby clothing.

Thalia quickly stomped on the thick dust, kicking it in all directions far apart from each other so to stop the monster from forming back together again. Monsters forming back together again was another big problem. That had started happening a little while after Percy disappeared.

The cool evening breeze swept through the woods, picking up all the left over dust and blowing it away from her. She sighed in relief.

Picking up her spear, she shrunk it back down to its canister form. She then retrieved her knife which was covered in green gloop. _Urgh... _She then closed Aegis.

As she closed her shield, the moonlight reflected on her shield and showed something shiny near her feet. It was a badge. She bent down to pick it up. Words were flashing across the middle. It read, "_Welcome to Bargain Mart. I'm STHENO." _

"Strange," she mumbled, noting down the name. "Well, time to move on." She let out a long yawn before continuing to walk to the middle of the forest.

╰ ╮¤°.¸¸.·´¯`»® ®«´¯`·.¸¸.°¤╰ ╮

Half an hour later, Thalia found herself in a clearing carefully shrouded in Mist. To mortals the clearing looked empty, but to Thalia she could see shimmery silver tents and a variety of animals seeking the protection of the Hunters.

_Home._

She allowed herself a small smile at the prospect of sleeping in her own tent and sleeping bag for the first time in two weeks. Buh-bye leaf litter and bugs!

The camp was quiet. The animals were all peaceful, snoozing away. A few wolves looked at her hungrily and as she shot them a glare, they turned away.

Thalia decided to tiptoe into the camp to her tent since it was already late. As she snuck in, she accidentally stepped on a thin branch which was quite unnoticeable to her before. The branch broke with a loud crack.

She groaned inwardly as she felt something sharp and cold get pressed on the nape of her neck. She quickly ducked down and regretted it immediately, as the point of what she suspected was a knife scraped a thin piece of skin off. There was no time to worry about that though. She swung her right leg in a clockwise direction, knocking down her assailant successfully as she turned around. Her attacker gave a startled yelp and Thalia groaned again in annoyance.

Soon there was a large crowd of girls surrounding her, pointing their bows directly at her chest.

Thalia spat her hair out of her mouth and stood up slowly, spinning around in a circle and taking in each of the girls. They wore silver parkas with matching silver combat boots. As soon as the girls saw her face, they lowered their weapons and gave a loud squeal, rushing to hug her.

She laughed as her sisters greeted her.

"Oh, Thalia, we thought you were dead too!" Phoebe told her.

Thalia felt confused. "Why would you think that?" She asked her friend.

The other girls stared down at their feet, shuffling nervously around their lieutenant.

Phoebe bit her lip. "After you left, Artemis..."

"Yes?" Thalia asked again, telling her to continue.

"Artemis disappeared."

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><p><strong>AN: Yes! Thalia fought off the monster and is now at her camp, the one and only place she feels she belongs!**

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><p><strong>Next time...<strong>

**"What do you mean we have to go to that place again?" Jasmine, a blonde haired Hunter asked with disgust.**

**Thalia sighed. "We have to go there Jas. Camp Half-Blood is our only hope."**

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><p><strong>~ SKYE &amp; GWEN. :]<strong>


	3. A Wolfy Surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. If I did, I would be a man named Rick Riordan, not a girl named Skylar.**

_**::IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ::**_

**Okay so this is just to clear up some confusion:**

**In my story, Thalia was not in _The Lost Hero. _She was sent on a special mission before the events took place. However, she has been in contact with Annabeth during _The Lost Hero _by I-Ming. That's how she knows Jason is alive, but she still hasn't met him yet.**

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><p>Thalia sat with her friends around the bonfire in the centre of the camp. It was a very chilly night so the fire had to be replenished every so often before it turned into embers. Thalia sat on one of the big logs which were arranged in a circular order around the small bonfire. The silver tents glowed in the red haze, casting an orange glow above everyone. She was listening to the Hunters who were telling her of the past events since she had gone, filling in the gaps in which she was away.<p>

"So," Thalia said as she grabbed a wet cloth off the log next to her and began scrubbing her mud-caked face. "First of, how and why did Lady Artemis disappear?"

Phoebe, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged next to her, gave a small shrug. "I'm not sure. She disappeared three days after you left on your mission. One day she was here, and the next she was gone. She left with no trace!"

Thalia frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. Questions were running through her mind: Why did her Lady disappear? When will she come back? Why wasn't Thalia called back sooner? Was Artemis in danger?

As if reading her mind, Jasmine, a young blonde Hunter, told her, "We're pretty sure that she's not in trouble. Lord Apollo would have told us. But we haven't seen him either!"

_Oh, great, _Thalia thought. _Apollo's missing too._

"What happened on your mission?" Another Hunter asked Thalia. "Were you successful?"

Phoebe handed Thalia a polished mirror so she could check for any more dirty spots on her face. Thalia glanced at the other Hunter, thinking about her mission to track down the wolf leader Lycaon. "Lycaon? Nah. I found him once, but that was it. I lost his trail. What about you? What have you been doing?"

Jasmine shifted uncomfortably. "W-we met your brother, Jason. He was with a child of Hephaestus, a child of Aphrodite and a Satyr. We found them near Aeolus's palace. Phoebe led them there, and that was it. We haven't heard from them since."

Thalia felt a sort of pang go through her. She desperately wanted to meet her brother but hadn't had the chance to, yet. Ever since Annabeth had Iris Messaged her telling Thalia that she had found a certain Jason Grace, Thalia had immediately wanted to go see him. Unfortunately, she could not, as her number one priority was her mission.

After Jasmine finished speaking the other Hunter's were now sharing uneasy looks with each other. These looks didn't go unnoticed by Thalia.

"What's wrong?" She asked, surveying each member critically. They shrugged in unison, not knowing what to say to their lieutenant.

It was Phoebe who answered her on behalf of the girls. "The monsters. They keep coming back as we kill them. They're unstoppable." Phoebe looked as if she had swallowed a nasty bug.

Thalia grimaced. "I know. Just before I got here it happened to me, too. A gorgon tracked me down. I killed it though and made sure that the dust didn't reform together."

The Hunters were all silent now. There was a tense feeling in the air, like a bubble, and Thalia wanted to pop it.

"You do know what Artemis told me, right?" She asked. Phoebe and the rest of the Hunters looked confused in the dim light. The fire casted an eerie light into their faces.

"No..." Jasmine answered slowly. "What did she say?"

"We're going to have to go _there." _Thalia replied, equally as slow, emphasising the word 'there.'

Jasmine's eyes widened in recognition of the word. "What?" She spat. "We can't go there! What do you mean we have to go to that place again?" She asked disgustedly.

Thalia sighed. "We have to go there, Jasmine. Camp Half-Blood is our only hope."

Phoebe, who looked slightly miffed but still had a calm composure asked, "And why do we have to go to the Camp?"

Thalia rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of the other girls' furious voices. "I just told you: Camp Half-Blood is our only hope. Lady Artemis told me that when we need help the most and she is not here, we are to seek the Camp and talk to Chiron. And this," she waved her arm around, "is a time when we need help the most and she's not here. Don't tell me that we don't need help, because we do. There are questions that we need to ask that will be answered at the Camp."

The other girls were now silent, agreeing with their lieutenant. Jasmine was still looking a bit disgruntled but she had at least quietened down.

"Well," Thalia said as she stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "I'm going to call it a night."

Without a second glance back at the startled Hunters, Thalia walked away from them to return to her tent. As she approached her tent she heard an excited little yip come from the inside. Puzzled, she unzipped the front of the tent to have a big lean and lithe shape roll right into her. Next came a big pink tongue, which licked Thalia's cheek from the bottom of her chin right up to her hairline. The creature had fur which shone dark silver in the moonlight beautiful and China blue eyes which reflected the stars.

Thalia couldn't help but give a laugh as she rolled sideways, causing the wolf to stumble and fall over on the ground next to her.

"Hello, China. Missed me?" She asked the grey wolf.

"_What? Pshh! Of course not. Never missed you a single bit. I didn't even think about you for a minute, nether less a second!"_ The grey wolf told her in reply.

"Oh, really?" Thalia asked, barely containing her amusement. Thalia narrowed her eyes at the wolf as she stood up and placed a hand on her hip. "I don't believe you."

China raised her blue eyes up to the sky mischievously before letting out a puff of breath through her mouth, which was hanging open in a big wolf-y smile. _"Alright. I did miss you. A bit. And-"_

Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"_-maybe I did think about you. Every second of every minute."_

"You're a terrible liar, China."

"_And that is why practise makes perfect."_

China then walked up to Thalia and gently bit her hand. Her mouth was gentle, applying very little pressure so that her sharp teeth didn't draw blood from Thalia. She then proceeded to drag the girl into the tent.

China was Thalia's loyal companion, given to her by Lady Artemis when she joined the Hunters. Each Hunter had their own wolf companion, and Thalia's was China. She was a dark grey wolf with a mottled white pelt and the most enchanting China blue eyes that Thalia had never seen on a wolf before, hence her name China. "A real beauty," Artemis had told her as she presented Thalia the wolf. "Be careful of her temper though. This one is feisty." And feisty China was. She and Thalia hadn't got along very well in the beginning. They were like two charged atomic bombs, ready to blow off their tops at any time. However this hostility stopped when Thalia and China had saved each other's lives more than once. Since then they have trusted each other and now share an unbreakable bond.

Thalia was near to heartbreak when Artemis told her to leave China at camp when she left to do her mission. During the period of time without her wolf, Thalia had to rely on herself for everything. She had to be more alert. There was no China to wake her up when there was danger near, and there was no China with her excellent sense of smell to pinpoint the trail of Lycaon if she lost it. And Thalia did lose Lycaon's trail.

Now that she was back home reunited with China, Thalia felt that a part of her had rejoined her body again. She felt whole. China was like her senses, except enhanced, and Thalia was glad to have her "enhanced senses" back again.

With her hand in China's mouth, Thalia was dragged gently into her tent. Everything in the tent was exactly how she left it – messy and untidy. She had no time to clean her tent two weeks before. The mission that her Lady had given her was so short of notice that she had no time to even pack properly. There were clothes scattered everywhere, her sleeping bag was crumpled in a corner and her photo album had a big muddy paw print on the cover belonging to a certain grey wolf.

"China!" Thalia exclaimed, but the wolf chose to ignore her.

China pulled Thalia towards her sleeping bag which looked as if it had been thrown on the floor without much thought. Thalia smoothed out her sleeping bag before kicking off her combat boots and throwing them at the entrance of the tent – the boots narrowly missed China who drew her lips back and snarled- and slipped into her sleeping bag. She grabbed a fluffy blue blanket off the ground next to her and threw it over her head, snuggling into it.

"G'night, China." She said sleepily.

China in response laid down next to her and nuzzled her. She then poked Thalia with a wet black nose. "_Not yet," _She told Thalia. _"Tell me if it's true first." _

"Talk to me tomorrow." Thalia growled back at her. She was tired and she wanted to go to sleep.

China gave a small _hruff _noise and picked up a flashlight near the foot of Thalia's sleeping bag. Carefully using one paw, she clicked the 'On' button then picked up the flashlight with her teeth before setting it down facing Thalia's blanket covered head. China then yanked down the fluffy blanket causing the light to shine directly into Thalia's sleeping face.

Thalia opened her eyes and squinted at the annoying wolf. "Fine! I'll talk to you now, but only one question because I want to sleep! What's true?" Thalia snapped.

The wolf clicked the 'Off' button on the flashlight. _"Did Zeus really close down Olympus?" _

"How would I kno- wait. What?" Thalia asked China, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. Thalia was fully awake now.

China rolled her big blue eyes at Thalia. "_Did Zeus really close down Olympus?" _She repeated slowly and carefully in a clearly annoyed tone, as if she were speaking to a dumb person.

Thalia frowned at her. "Don't speak to me in that tone of voice, Missy!" And then in reply to her question, "I didn't even know Olympus was closed!" Thalia told her. "How did you find out this?"

"_The forest animals said that Artemis was called to Olympus because Zeus was closing down Olympus and cutting off all contact with the mortal world." _

"And why, pray tell, didn't you tell the Hunters of this?"

"_What am I going to say to them? 'Hey, Thalia's servants! A squirrel told me that Zeus closed Olympus'? And besides, I really don't like to talk to them. They, and their wolves, are too snobby for my taste." _

"Hey! The Hunters aren't my servants! But alright. Well you've told me now and we're going back to Camp Half-Blood tomorrow at dawn, so wake me up then! After I'm awake _then _we shall continue our talk. Got it?"

"_Okay, Miss Grumpy-Boots. Good night, then. One last question though! If they're not your servants, then why do they obey you then?"_

Thalia shot an annoyed look at the wolf. "Maybe because _I'm their lieutenant,_ Oh Smart One."

China looked satisfied at this answer so she walked over to Thalia's pile of clothes and lay down on them. Thalia closed her eyes, getting ready to drift off to sleep again.

"_By the way, you look like an ice princess all wrapped up in that blanket with the tiara on."_

Thalia opened one eye to shoot a dirty look at the wolf before promptly pulling her tiara off and throwing it at China's furry head.

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><p><strong>AN: I had a dance/formal on, so sorry if I updated late! Gwen didn't write this chapter with me, she's busy rehearsing for her cheer-leading performance.**

**I'm not the type of person who will withhold a chapter because of no reviews, but if you're a nice person, will you leave me a review? ^^**

**~SKYE :]**

**Next...**

_**"Who's he?"**_** China asked, as she sniffed the blonde boy.**

**Thalia looked at them, a smile playing on her lips. "He's my brother. China, meet Jason. Jason, meet China."**


	4. Back to Camp

**Disclaimer: We don't own PJO or HoO.**

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><p><span>Thalia's POV:<span>

The next morning found me being roughly awoken by an irritated China. She had her big paws resting on my stomach and was repeatedly prodding it. To be honest, it wasn't really prodding. More like half squishing to death.

"_Get up! It's past sunrise!" _She growled at the still sleeping me.

Really, I did feel sleepy. I had been running for ages and this was the first time that I had a slightly good night's sleep in weeks. Couldn't she cut me some slack? I decided to ignore China so I pulled my doona up and over my head before snuggling into it, just to piss her off.

"Just a few more minutes..." I mumbled sleepily back at her.

"_Nuh-uh," _China gave a low rumble before yanking my doona down and dragging me out of my bed roll. _"Up you get! C'mon! Get dressed."_

I rubbed my eyes tiredly and freed myself from China's grasp. Running a hand through my hair, I walked over to a small trunk and pulled out a brush and mirror. I brushed my long hair (which was now up to my shoulders) and grunted when I found a large tangle.

"Hey!" I called over to China, whilst staring at myself in the mirror. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted China dragging my stuff over next to my rainbow coloured Country Road duffle bag. "Do you reckon I should cut my hair again?" I asked her, looking at my wild, shaggy long hair.

"_Yes, you look like a scruffy hobo."_

Turning around sharply, I shot China a glare. Then I spotted one of my hunting knives in its sheaf on the floor. Picking the knife up, I took it out of its sheaf and began hacking off my hair. Soon my hair was back at its usual length: short and pixie-like, with bangs.

"Better?" I asked China who was staring at me as if I had grown two heads.

She gave a nod, then turned around and pointed her nose at my small digital clock. The time showed that it was 7:40am. I groaned. I was late.

"China! Go grab my stuff!" I said hurriedly. "Please!" I added as an afterthought.

The wolf gave me an exasperated look before rolling her eyes and walking off to grab other stuff in my tent.

As soon as China went off doing what I asked her to do, I quickly pulled off my leggings and shirt, throwing them with precise aim on top of my duffle bag, ready to pack. Then I went back to my open trunk to search for suitable clothes to wear. I found a black shirt which was slightly ripped and a pair of faded black shorts. _Eh, it'll do, _I thought as I put them on. I then checked myself in the small mirror again and cleaned my face with a wet cloth that Phoebe had left in my room earlier.

Then I grabbed everything I could find off the floor and shoved it into my duffle bag. Clothes, mirror, clock, sleeping bag, doona, everything, it went into my bag. I found my eyeliner and mascara kit so I applied some on. It made quite a nice effect on my appearance. The mascara and eyeliner made my eyes stand out and made my freckles sort of disappear a bit. Urgh freckles. Yuck.

After packing my duffle bag and putting my combat boots on, I walked out of my tent with China at my heels. Outside the tent was bright. The sun was shining through the clouds and the area was filled with excited girls ready to go to the Camp. Amidst the crowd, I spotted Phoebe, tall and buff, walking towards me. Her brown eyes gleamed in the sunlight and she beamed at me as soon as we were within distance of sustaining a conversation.

"Are you ready?" She asked me, curiosity in her eyes. Phoebe was carrying her backpack, the bag made her look like a backpacker. She had her bow in her hands and a club strapped to the side of her bag. The Mist made the club morph its shape. One moment it was a club tipped with steel spikes and the next it looked like a thermal flask.

I shrugged in response to her question. "I don't know. I suppose I am ready."

Phoebe's question had a double meaning. Apart from asking whether I was ready to leave, she was also asking whether I was ready to face my brother again.

China nudged me with her snout. _"Remember to pack the tent."_

"Oh, yeah, right!" I replied, and I sent a small shot of electricity up to the symbol of the lightning bolt which was emblazoned on the top of my tent. As soon as the electricity hit the image, the tent collapsed into itself and folded until it became a small square package. It was the size of a pack of gum and it fitted nicely into the pocket of my shorts.

I slung my duffle bag over my shoulder and walked into middle of the area which had the bonfire last night. The fire was extinguished some time during the night, so the ground was a blackened ring of ash. I did a 360 degrees turn around to survey the entire camp. All the silver tents were packed and gone, and the girls and their respective wolf partners were carrying their bags and weapons looking at me awaiting their orders.

"Have they eaten?" I turned and asked Phoebe who was standing next to me.

"Yeah, we have," she told me, then offered me a muesli breakfast bar. "Want some food?"

I gladly accepted the muesli bar, breaking it in half and throwing some in China's direction. I heard a loud snap of teeth and the crunch of a muesli bar, meaning that she had caught the muesli bar and was now eating it.

"How are we getting to the camp?" Jasmine asked as she came up to us. Her blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail and it swished from side to side as she walked. Her wolf companion was a long-legged wolf with golden-red fur. Her amber eyes glinted with curiosity as she followed Jasmine.

I bit my lip and glanced down at China, who had walked over to stand next to my hip. China looked up at me, her china-blue eyes looking at me for leadership.

I gave an intelligent answer, "Uhh..."

Phoebe looked at me expectantly as I looked around the camp. Jasmine was looking suspiciously triumphant, but I ignored her.

Spotting Artemis's bright silver chariot near where her tent used to be, I said, "There's our transport!"

The girls all had expressions of surprise as I strode over to the gleaming chariot. Shrugging it off, they all began to follow me.

"Lady Artemis?" I asked the chariot, feeling slightly stupid. "You don't mind if I um... you know," I gestured with my hands to the chariot, "-borrow this for like a little while? It's for a good purpose, I swear."

I heard a distant bird call and a warm breeze sweep through the camp. The breezed encircled me as if it were an encouraging and warm hug, before leaving and going through the forest.

"I'm going to take that as a yes, then." I said, and then turned around to the chariot to see that it had been changed into a big double-deck bus. My facial expression turned into that of dismay. How was I going to fly that thing up in the air when I was afraid of heights? As well as that, how am I to conceal it in the Mist while _also _flying it at the same time and controlling my fear? I heard China give a throaty chuckle as she listened to my thoughts.

"Oh, shut up," I mumbled as she let out another wolf-y laugh.

I nodded my head towards the awaiting Hunters, giving them the okay signal to get on the bus. The younger girls squealed as they ran on the bus, carrying their overly large bags and their happy wolf companions running after them. The older girls merely shrugged and some were trying hard to hide their small smiles. As Phoebe walked past I stopped her.

"Hey, Phoebe? Do you mind doing me a favour?" I asked her, keeping my voice low.

She shrugged. "Sure, Thals. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you drive us to the Camp?"

Phoebe smiled and told me, "Sure. Just let me get my stuff on the bus first."

I gave a sigh of relief. Phoebe was the only Hunter who knew I was afraid of heights. She hadn't teased me about it, but had accepted it. Whenever we had to do business that included air transport, Phoebe would always volunteer to fly for me.

"Hey! Thalia!" I heard Phoebe shout from inside the bus. "Are you just gonna stand there or what? C'mon, get in!"

I realised that everybody had walked in the bus, leaving me standing outside. As I walked into the bus, I spotted China, with her nose pressed up against the bus's window. She looked so ridiculous that I paused to press my face up against the outside. She gave a big huff, making the window cloud up.

I continued walking up the stairs right into the cockpit of the flying bus. Phoebe was already at the steering wheel, and I nodded my head in response to her non-spoken question. She revved up the engine and the bus began to move, like an aeroplane ready to take off.

Now, knowing from my experiences with Phoebe and her driving, I immediately closed my eyes. Phoebe liked to drive fast. The bus shot forward with a splutter, the engines not used to being put in gear so quickly. Soon, the bus's wheels were lifting off the ground. I heard small screams from the top and back of the bus. The screams didn't help to make anything better. I felt my stomach recoil and jump around. Next, my head started spinning as the bus, now in midair slowly rising above the tree line, began to shake from turbulence.

"Chill, Thalia," Phoebe said her face composed and calm, turning around to look at my now turning green face. "Learn how to master your fear. Go and take a look outside the window."

I stood up from my seat, still feeling a little shaky, and began walking to the back of the bus to find China. I found her at the back of the bus with her head sticking out of the window, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

"China," I moaned, feeling a little scared of the thought that she might fall out.

"_You should try this, Thalia. Come and stick your head out with me!" _

"No, thanks," I told her sternly before trying to tug her back in the bus.

Her hind legs scrabbled against the window as she protested but I managed to drag her head in and close the window firmly. China let out a whine and her forehead crinkled as if she was giving me a disapproving glare.

"Don't do that again, you nearly gave me a heart attack." I scolded her.

She gave me a mischievous wolf smile. _"Thalia, you're such a spoilsport. Live a little!"_

Then she carefully placed her paws on the window latch and set it free, before sticking her head out of the window again.

I sighed. This was going to be a long bus trip.

. .¸¸ ´¯` .¸¸¤ ¤¸¸. ´¯` ¸¸. ..

"Thalia!" Phoebe called from the front of the bus. "China, will you go and wake up Thalia, please?"

I heard a bark, the thundering paws of a wolf running towards me and then paws pressing against my chest. Up and down, up and down. The pressure nearly made my eyes pop out of my head.

"Okay! I'm up, I'm up!" I growled, shoving a laughing China off of my body.

"Thalia! Good, you're awake. Well, we're here."

I smiled at Phoebe who looked slightly dishevelled. Her hair looked like a birds nest and her eyes were droopy with sleep. "Thanks a lot, Phoebe. Go and take your stuff to Cabin 8 and take a rest. Tell the other girls that they can eat at the Mess Hall first."

Phoebe nodded in thanks and was about to walk off the bus, but then she turned around to me. "Are you going to sleep in Cabin 8 or Cabin 1?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I'll decide later."

She gave a curt nod before walking down the stairs, her loud voice giving instructions to the other Hunters.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly then turned to look at China. She cocked her head sideways, awaiting my instructions. I stood up and walked off the bus, whistling to China for her to follow. She followed me off the bus and we watched with slight awe as the bus morphed back into a plain silver chariot.

My bag was on the grass next to it, and on top of it was a crinkled note. It read:_ Tomorrow, go to Olympus. Tell Chiron you received this message in a dream. Rip this note up as soon as you've read it. _The note was finished off with a signature of an intricate curly A. The writing was very familiar. As soon as I saw the note, I realised that it was from my Lady. Following her instructions, I ripped the note up and watched as it blew across the field I was standing in.

"_Can we eat? I'm hungry." _China told me. Her paws were twitching as if she was excited, and her stomach gave a rumble which made me laugh.

"Alright. Come on."

I walked the way out of the fields, which had a big sign on the fence, reading, "STRAWBERRY FIELDS. DO NOT LITTER. THANK YOU, CABIN DEMETER." On the corner of the sign was a name which had been painted on. I smirked as I made out the words, "TRAVIS WAS HERE."

China was sniffing the road that we were walking along. I had only just remembered that China hadn't ever been to Camp Half-Blood before, so I began to tell China about the different areas of the Camp.

"To the right is the Forge. That's where the camp kids make their weapons." I pointed at the large building with many chimneys on it. The building was a red colour, which suited it perfectly, as through the windows you could see sparks ignite and fire.

"_What's this place?" _China asked as she pointed her snout towards the Pegasi Stables.

I turned around to face the stables which were opposite the Forge. "That's the Pegasi Stables. I had two friends who loved working there," I told China. "Their names are Silena and Percy."

China nodded and we continued walking along the dirt path. We passed the stables, giving China an opportunity to take a closer look at the horses and sniff the smells. The stables were made of thick pieces of wood, and the pegasi looked at us curiously. One horse caught my attention. He was black stallion. I immediately thought of Blackjack, so I decided to wave and see whether the horse responded. The horse did respond – it gave a loud neigh, as if asking, _"Yo, Zeus girl! Have you seen the Boss?"_

China didn't think the pegasi were very interesting so she nudged the back of my legs, urging me to walk faster. Soon, we walked past the Arena and the Armory building. As we went pass the Arena, we spotted the Cabins which were slightly lighted up due to the fairy lights. The Mess Hall was only a few hundred metres away when we spotted a huge ship. It had a huge bronze dragon head as the bowsprit figure. I gaped in surprise as the dragon shook its head; the shiny bronze scales rippling from the movement. Then it opened its mouth wide and blew a consistent stream of smoke, letting out a satisfied whirring noise. I spotted people on the ship as I walked closer. Then as I looked up at the mast, I spotted a curly blonde wearing a faded orange shirt waving at me.

"Thalia? Thalia! Holy Zeus, you've arrived!" The blonde girl- Annabeth- scaled down the mast with surprising speed. Annabeth then threw down a thick rope over the side of the old fashioned Greek boat, before abseiling down it and running towards me, all without breaking sweat. She smiled a huge smile before grabbing me into a bone crunching hug.

"Hey Annabeth!" I smiled at her. She grinned and hugged me even tighter. I swear I heard my ribs creak. "You may want to go easy on the ribs," I groaned, and she released me.

"Thalia! I can't believe you're here! I saw the Hunter's enter camp an hour ago, but I didn't see you, so I thought that you weren't here," She babbled.

"Why on earth wouldn't I be here? Let's go to the Mess Hall, I think China needs to eat," I told the overenthusiastic Annabeth.

Annabeth shot me a puzzled look. "Who's China?"

China trotted up next to my hip and let out a bark. _"Someone called?"_

"Ooh!" Annabeth's face morphed into a big smile as she looked down at the wolf. "Nice to meet you."

I walked with Annabeth to the Mess Hall. It was supper time, I guessed. Not many campers were down here so the Mess Hall was nearly empty. I sat down at Zeus' table and thought of a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It appeared on my plate, looking freshly made. I gave my thanks to my dad and began digging in. China was sitting on the floor gnawing on some kind of meat. What it was, I didn't really want to ask.

Annabeth was seated opposite me, staring at me intently with her grey inquisitive eyes. Feeling kind of unnerved, I asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Um, nothing much," She replied, twirling a strand of her blonde hair. "It's just that I really want to spend some more time with you, since you've just got to camp, but..." She trailed off, looking uncertain.

I gestured with my hands for her to continue on, since my mouth was full of the delicious sandwich.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

I choked and spluttered a bit before saying, "What? Where?"

Annabeth frowned and tilted her head up to look at the stars. "To the Roman Camp. I'm going to find Percy."

My eyebrows scrunched together as I said quietly, "Oh."

China looked up at me and caught my confused look. She looked at me as if asking if I wanted a way out of the conversation. I nodded and gave her a smile, so she stood up and barked twice at me.

"Anna, China's sleepy; I'm going to go back to my cabin. It was nice seeing you again."

Annabeth gave me a small smile and nodded. I turned off and whistled to China and she came walking up to me, carrying her nearly polished off bone.

"Wait!" I heard Annabeth call from behind me. I spun around on my heel to face her standing alone in the Mess Hall. "I want you to meet someone."

I waited until Annabeth had caught up with me so we could walk together. We walked back to the ship which was supported by huge blocks of wood on the ground. The rope on which Annabeth had scaled down earlier was still hanging down from the side.

"Come on!" Annabeth called, as she ran ahead and began to climb the rope.

"Climb up without me first," I called back to her and she nodded and climbed up the boat. I knelt down on the ground and grabbed China around her middle with my left arm. Then using my right hand, I got a secure grip on the rope and placing my feet shoulder width apart, I climbed up the rope with ease. I was met at the deck of the boat with impressed eyes. Annabeth was looking at me in slight awe, a curly black haired boy with a mechanical belt stared at me in amazement and a blonde boy looked incredulous. I set China down on the ground and she dropped her bone and went off sniffing each person.

Running a hand through my hair, I asked Annabeth, "Alright. Who do you want me to-"

I broke off as I took another look at the blonde boy. He was strikingly familiar, with blonde tousled hair and electric blue eyes. In his hand he was holding an old faded photograph, which he kept glancing back at from me to the photograph and vice versa.

"Thalia?" He asked, and as his lips moved to form my name I saw a small scar on the corner of his lips.

"Jason?" I asked, as if in a trance. "Jason!" I repeated again, and ran over to him, hugging him fiercely.

Annabeth smiled at us and China looked at me as if I had gone nuts. It didn't matter though, because I had my brother back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an extremely beautiful girl with luscious chocolate brown hair and the most amazing kaleidoscope eyes. She frowned at me, for what reasons I didn't know.

Jason spotted the girl however and he turned around to call her over. "Piper! I want you to meet my sister, Thalia."

I released Jason from my embrace and I saw the girl's frown disappear and her face transformed into that of relief.

"Hello," She said, and her voice, which must have sounded really nice or something, made Jason blush and turn away.

"Hi," I replied, smiling. "Are you two a couple?"

China who was next to me groaned. _"Thalia! You don't go around asking people that."_

I watched as Piper and Jason both turned scarlet.

"Oh." I said to China.

"So..." The boy with the mechanical belt around his waist said. He was clearly trying to divert the attention away from his friend. "I'm Leo. Leo Valdez."

He stretched out his hand for a handshake, so I accepted it. His hand was hot. No, not that way. I meant that it was like holding fire. I yelped a bit and pulled my hand away from his.

"Hot!" I gasped, shaking my hand in the air, trying to soothe the small burns I had received.

"I know." He shot me a wink.

Annabeth burst into laughter and China gave a half-hearted growl as she too was on the verge of laughing.

I sighed at them before giving a yawn. "I'm going to go to my cabin and crash. Wake me up when you're about to leave so I can say goodbye," I told Annabeth.

Jason looked upset but he shot me a small smile and walked over to hug me.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked as he approached me.

"You tried eating a stapler when you were two," I smiled. "That's how you got your scar on your lip."

The Hephaestus boy, Leo, gave a loud guffaw behind me.

"Jason, dude! Ha! That's just..." He broke off laughing and Jason gave him an exasperated look.

I decided to leave, so I called China over. I jumped over the side of the boat, holding the rope with my right hand and wrapping my legs around it.

"Will you pass me China?" I asked Annabeth, but as she stepped over to wrap her arms around China, the wolf gave a low growl and backed away. China wasn't a people person. She didn't like humans handling her, but I thought that Annabeth would be okay since China knew Annabeth was my best friend.

"Oh come on, China," I said tiredly. "Just let Annabeth carry you over to me. It'll only take a few seconds."

I heard China give a big bark which strangely sounded like a 'no'.

"I'll do it." I heard Jason say. Then a few seconds later, Jason appeared on the edge of the boat, carrying China in his arms. "Here you go, Thals."

I nodded my thanks and grabbed China with my left hand, and then I began scaling down the side of the boat. As soon as we reached the ground, I released China and she shook herself like a dog getting out of water. We walked to the Cabins which was only a few metres away. It was dark, so I expected the cleaning Harpies to be out and about doing their business, but they didn't seem to be around.

As soon as we approached the Cabin area, I walked up to the biggest Cabin of all. Cabin One, Zeus' cabin was huge. It was made of white marble and had huge columns which held up the big roof. I stepped in the room and I immediately felt calm and safe. I found my bag next to a bunk but I didn't want to sleep there. I didn't like having the Zeus statue staring down at me in my sleep. It was creepy.

Instead, I climbed up to my special alcove. There were photographs lying on my dusty old bedroll. I picked them up and put them on the alcove next to me before throwing my dusty bed roll down on the ground. I noticed one photograph was missing. It was probably the photograph which Jason was holding when I met him earlier. Then I unzipped my duffle and pulled out my Hunter's sleeping bag. I unrolled it and placed it on my bed. I then kicked off my shoes before going under the covers.

_"Did you take a shower?" _China asked me,

"No. Why?"

_"Eww. Go take a shower tomorrow morning, then."_

"I will, don't worry. Why didn't you let Annabeth carry you?" I asked China, as I put my arms behind my head.

"_I don't like it when other people carry me," _was China's reply.

"You let Jason carry you," I pointed out.

"_Only because he smelt similar to you. Hey Thals?" _

"Yeah?"

"_Your brother smells strange." _

I snorted. "And?"

"_He smells of Rome." _

I lifted my head up and stared down at the floor to look at China who was resting on my doona. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"_He's not Greek."_

I thought about it. Jason looked like a normal demigod. I didn't see anything strange or unusual about him. Then I realised there was something on his arm. There was an eagle tattoo with the words, "SPQR" and twelve strikes. What did it mean?

"China? What does SPQR mean?"

China raised her head to look at me, the moonlight making her fur look dappled grey. _"SPQR is the motto of the Roman Empire. It means Senatus Populsque Romanus."_

"The Senate and the People of Rome." I said quietly.

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><p><strong>Hey :] Sorry for the long wait!<strong>

**Summer time has gone to our heads, so now all we can think about is holidays.**

**~ GWEN & SKYE :]**


	5. The Quest is Given

**Disclaimer: We don't own PJO or HoO. If we did, do you think we'd be here? XD**

* * *

><p><span>Thalia's POV:<span>

That night I had the weirdest dream ever.

I was flying in the sky, which was quite peculiar since I'm afraid of heights. I flew over Olympus and settled myself down on a tree rich with golden leaves. As I sat down I ruffled my feathers and- wait, what? _FEATHERS? _

I gave a loud shout and it came out as a squawk. I saw my feathers rise rapidly and then down and then up again. The red and brown feathers were starting to annoy me. Last time I checked, I was a girl, not a bird.

_Oh, man, _I thought. _What if this is one of the prophetic dreams that comes true? Crap_! _What happens if I wake up as a tomato red bird?_

I was about to bang my feathered head against the rough trunk of the tree when I heard booming footsteps. I looked up at the entrance of the Olympus gardens and saw my father and my Lady Artemis approaching the gold gates. The moonlight made the garden glitter and made the two figures seem ethereal. Zeus was wearing his crisp black suit and Artemis had a flowing gossamer white gown, which she kept trying to lift it up to walk easier.

"Father!" I heard Artemis say. She was half jogging and half walking to keep up with Zeus' long strides. Each of his strides was matched with two of hers. Artemis looked irritated, her nose was scrunched up a bit, how it always was when she seemed miffed about something. "You can't make Thalia the one! There has to be another demigod."

"No, Artemis," Zeus said, his voice deep with authority and firmness. "Thalia has to be the one. There is no other demigod that has the ability to do this quest."

Artemis looked disgruntled. They had stopped in the middle of the garden where there was a brightly coloured fountain. The moon glowed through the sparkling water, making it shine rainbows.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked Zeus, her hands on her hips. The wind in the garden had picked up a little and Artemis' auburn hair was billowing around her face, creating a Medusa-like look. The trees and plants began swaying in the wind, too, as if picking up the tense moment and building up tempo to heighten the moment.

I fluttered over to a closer branch to listen more closely to my father's reply. Zeus was about to reply, but then he glanced up to look over at me. His eyes narrowed and he turned around to face me.

"Good night, Thalia." He said, and I felt myself falling, falling, falling. Down and down I went, just like Alice in Wonderland when she fell into the Rabbit's burrow.

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"Thalia?" Someone said, and I felt a firm grip on my shoulders, gently shaking me. I could still feel myself falling down, but that feeling was slowly disappearing. "Wake up, Thals. It's 5am, already."

I opened my eyes and saw Jason. His hair was messy, as if he had just gotten out of bed. He was wearing a Camp Half-Blood shirt which he kept tugging at the bottom, and black jeans. I looked down to see what he was wearing for shoes and then I freaked out.

Looking down at his feet he was wearing converses. That wasn't what freaked me out, though. What freaked me out was that he seemed to be flying. We were up at my special alcove and I was still sitting in my sleeping bag. Jason however was standing right next to me on air. I looked more closely at his feet and gasped. Being the daughter of Zeus, I could see the air swirling under his feet, buoying him up. The air moved and pushed together to hold my brother, supporting him and making him able to float.

"How do you do that?" I whispered, still in shock from seeing him float.

Jason looked at me, surprise showing in his blue eyes. "You mean you don't know how to fly?"

I shook my head no, and kicked off my sleeping bag before jumping off the alcove and landing on the floor, using the air as a cushion to soften my landing. China didn't seem to be in the cabin, so I grabbed my duffle bag and pulled out some fresh clothes, throwing the dirty ones in the cleaning basket for the Harpies. As I pulled out my toiletries bag, I saw Jason slowly lowering himself down to the white marble floors of the cabin.

"I'm going to take a shower, okay?" I told him, and he nodded.

I walked out of the cabin into the cold air. Outside was still quite dark, though I could see some early risers out and about. I went to the girl's showers which were next to the cabins.

I found an empty stall, so I closed the door and quickly stripped myself of my clothes. The shower was so refreshing and warm. It felt good on my aching muscles. I washed my hair thoroughly and scrubbed my body. After rinsing everything I dried myself and put on a grey tank top with a skull on it and black shorts.

As I walked out of the showers bare foot I found China sitting outside waiting for me. My thigh high black and purple striped socks were in her mouth and my dusty black combat boots were on the floor next to her. I smiled and put them on, before walking with her to the Mess Hall.

It was 6AM now, and I heard the conch horn blow. It had a nice mellow sound. As I sat at the Zeus table, I saw the Hunters all sitting on Artemis' table. Jasmine was sitting at the head and was chatting amicably with everyone who would listen.

The dryads and nymphs were walking around holding dishes of breakfast foods out for the campers to load their plates with. As I looked around for Annabeth, I saw the Hephaestus boy Leo sitting at the head of his table, meaning that he was the head counsellor for the Hephaestus cabin. He saw me looking and waved. I waved back and looked at the Aphrodite table. I saw the pretty brunette sitting at the head of the table. She gave me a small grin.

"Why are you looking at Piper for?"

I turned around and facing me was Jason. He was sitting across me and had his plate was stacked up with bacon and toast.

"Oh, I was actually looking for Annabeth, but your friends waved so I waved back," I told him, stealing a piece of toast off his plate. He frowned at me, but didn't say anything.

I was about to say something else to him but I heard Annabeth's voice behind me. I turned to look and there she was with Chiron and Rachel. Chiron still looked the same. He had a wise, friendly face and he was beaming at me.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Thalia Grace," He said and he walked over to envelope me in a hug.

Rachel Dare was standing next to him and she gave me a huge smile. Her red hair was tied in a high ponytail and she kind of looked like a Ponita, from Pokémon. "Thalia!" She gave a shriek before jumping on me.

I patted her back awkwardly. "Hi, Rachel."

I then realised at this point that there was somebody missing. I frowned as I thought deeply, trying to remember who. I glanced over at the Big Three's table and my gaze landed on an empty Poseidon table. Nope, I knew that Percy was not there for a reason. I looked back and then I realised that the Hades table was empty, too.

"Where's Nico?" I asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said airily. "Maybe he went for a walk?"

And so we left it at there.

After Chiron finished greeting me and the Hunters, he went up to the huge table in the Mess Hall. I noticed that Dionysius was missing, too.

Annabeth ate her breakfast quickly, and then ran off somewhere saying that she had to charge her Daedalus laptop before she had to leave. Piper looked as if she couldn't stand sitting at her table, so she went to follow Annabeth.

I scooped up some jam with my bread before popping it into my mouth. I was thinking about that note from Artemis, again. She wanted me to go to Olympus, today.

"_You look constipated," _China said, as she looked up from some kind of bloody object on the ground. Her paws were stained with blood and her jaws and muzzle had streaks of the red liquid.

I was about to reply when Jason beat me to it. "No she doesn't. That's how she always looks when she thinks."

I stared at him, my eyes wide. "You understood her?"

"Yeah..." He said uncertainly. "Was I not meant to?"

I shook my head in wonder and stood up from the table. Jason and China followed me as we walked off to look at the Argo II and to find Annabeth.

"Normally other people don't understand what our wolves say to us," I told him and he nodded and said, "Oh."

As we approached the Argo II, I saw Chiron talking with Annabeth at the base of the boat.

"You must take care," I heard him say. "Be careful of what you come across. Have you your supplies?"

Annabeth nodded, "Of course we have our supplies. And we have extra rations, too, just in case."

"Excellent," Chiron said, clapping his hands together. "You'll leave in half an hour. I expect you to have your crew ready by then."

Annabeth nodded and motioned for Leo, Piper and Jason to go over to her for a talk. Chiron watched the four then turned to look over at me.

"Thalia? Is there a problem?"

Sighing, I nodded. "Chiron I need to get to Olympus, pronto."

The skin around his eyes crinkled and he seemed to sag slightly. "I knew this would happen," he muttered, and the sky rumbled as if in agreement.

"What?" I asked, but he waved a hand at me before explaining.

"You will leave with Annabeth. When she drops you off at Olympus, your father will explain. About the Hunters, do not worry. Artemis has left certain arrangements for them." He patted my head in a fatherly way and smiled at me. "You will do well on your quest, daughter of Zeus."

I felt stunned as I walked back to my cabin. I climbed up to my alcove and began to pack my things into my duffle bag again. I folded up my clothes and sleeping bag and stuffed them into the bag. As I walked out of the cabin, I nearly ran into Annabeth. She was panting heavily, and struggling to catch her breath.

"G-good!" She huffed, "I just found you! You're coming with me!" She then grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ship.

The bronze dragon, whom I found out was named Festus by Leo, puffed a few smoke clouds in greeting. Festus made a small whirring noise as he did so and I heard Leo call out, "Soon, Festus! Soon you'll be in the sky again."

Annabeth began climbing up a rope on the side of the boat so I climbed up with her. Only then, as I reached the top did I realise I was forgetting something.

"Anna!" I yelled out to her.

"What?" She called back as she was instructing the Campers below to pull out the blocks from underneath the boat.

"Where's China?"

"Jason's got her!"

I glanced up at the deck near the bowsprit and found Jason standing next to Leo who was at the wheel. His face had a frown and his blonde hair flew wildly everywhere. I saw China lying on the ground next to him looking up at me worriedly. As I walked closer to them the boat gave a lurch, tilting sideways and making me stagger. Jason's face turned red, and his eyebrows scrunched even closer. I felt the wind pushing up against the side of the boat, supporting it and making it stand straight. I immediately caught on what he was doing, so standing from where I was, I used my powers to help control the wind with him together.

Leo who was at the wheel was furiously trying to get the boat's flying engine started. It revved up once but slowly died.

"On the count of three," Piper called out, "Jason and Thalia, make the boat airborne! One! Two! Three!"

Jason nodded, without looking at her, and we both focused together in making the wind push up the boat. It was slowly draining my energy, but I had to focus. Inch by inch the boat began to rise. I saw the Campers and Hunters underneath running sideways to get clear of the wind which was blowing strongly.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leo give a massive tug on the boat's engine, and it roared to life. Festus' eyes glowed ruby red and as he flexed his neck the Greek boat lighted up and became airborne itself. I heard whoops and shouts of triumph from the Hephaestus cabin below.

As the boat drifted up slowly to the sky, I called down to the Hunters, "Phoebe! You're in charge!"

She raised her club in acknowledgement and saluted me, "Yes, Ma'am!" She shouted.

Soon we were up in the clouds. Annabeth was twirling a strand of hair and nibbling at a pencil as she wrote down ideas on her note pad. Piper was at the front of the boat leaning over the edge to look at the clouds. Leo was humming tunes and cracking jokes with Jason at the wheel. And me, you ask? I was sitting next to Annabeth feeling sick. I hated heights, and being up in the air flying above everyone was very fear inducing.

China looked at me sleepily and gave a big yawn, before resting her head on my lap. Her rhythmic breathing helped soothe my phobia a bit. I found myself stroking her ears and listening to Annabeth sigh in frustration as she scribbled furiously on her note pad.

"Don't murder your note pad, Anna," I mumbled to her. She stared back at me in amusement, her grey eyes alight with humour.

"You're sleepy," she commented. "Go to sleep, Thalia!"

I frowned. This Annabeth sounded like she was all grown up. I was used to telling her to go to sleep when we were on the run. Now it was reversed - me being frozen perfectly at 15 and she was already 16.

I didn't want to fall asleep, but China's breathing slowly lulled me into oblivion.

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Almost twenty minutes later I awoke to the sound of an engine spluttering. I opened my eyes and saw that Piper was trying to get Festus to calm down. I was sitting in the middle of the boat with my back resting against the cabin door, and I felt this immense heat coming off from the front of the boat. Festus' eyes were glowing bright orange, like a fire. The smoke that he was puffing out seemed stronger than usual, and his bronze scales were making a sizzling sound.

"He's burnin' up!" Leo shouted from the front of the boat. Piper was talking in soothing tones and Annabeth was searching in her laptop for some notes to help. Jason was at the wheel of the boat flying for Leo.

"Think cool, Festus! Water, ice! Um... Antarctica!" Piper was saying.

Annabeth stopped her pacing and turned to look at me. "It's cold!" She moaned, and Jason started rubbing his arms up and down too.

"Ice cream! Ice! Cold! Think cold!" Piper's voice sounded strong and commanding, now. Festus' scales had stopped its sizzling sound and his eyes were returning to its usual red ruby colour. His fast whirring noises slowed down and the heat emanating from his head slowly disappeared. Festus had cooled down and so had the engine, but unfortunately Annabeth and Jason were almost frozen. Leo, Piper and I remained normal, though.

Piper breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to the cabin on which I was leaning against.

"Why aren't you cold?" She asked me. I shrugged in response.

Piper frowned and she looked off into space for a few seconds. "I charmed spoke to Festus and everyone who could hear me felt what I was saying to the dragon."

"Leo isn't cold, either," I told her, leaning my head back to look at the cabin roof.

"That's because I'm the son of Hephaestus," He said as he approached us, carrying a tool box in his arms. "The god of fire. That means I'm hot."

Piper stuck her tongue out at him then turned to face me. "Will you go get me an ice cream?" She asked.

Jason looked back over at her and Annabeth did, too. Leo paused what he was doing to glance back at us.

"Why can't you get it yourself?" I frowned.

"Please?" She asked again, and this time I could feel something in her voice. Just the way she said it. It contained some kind of strength, but it didn't do anything to me. In fact, my body and mind wasn't compelled to do anything.

I yawned. "Nup."

Jason looked on the verge of flying to the moon and back to get an ice cream, and Annabeth had a pained look on her face as if she was torn between two decisions. Leo had pulled on ear muffs and was humming happily to some television tune.

Piper grinned and clapped her hands together, laughing. "You're immune to charm speak, Thalia!"

"Huh?"

"That means you can't be charmed to do something from an Aphrodite child's voice."

I rolled my eyes. "That's the blessing of Artemis, for you. No love potions, love spells or charmed things for me."

Piper just smiled.

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"Thals!" Annabeth said as she walked up to me. "We're approaching Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. The Empire Building is coming up ahead. Do you want us to drop you?"

I stood up shakily as the flying boat was making rocking motions. "Yeah, thanks!" I said, grabbing my duffle off the floor.

I beckoned to China and like a practiced choreographed dance, I opened my arms and she leapt into them. I tightened my arm around her to secure her. Annabeth touched my arm and pointed over to the building. The boat was lowering slowly, the Mist surrounding it from the mortals below. Suddenly it stopped around 7 feet from the ground.

"You'll have to jump," Annabeth said. "Bye, Thalia!"

I heard a chorus of, "good bye" and "good luck". Turning around at the edge, I waved to everyone before jumping off the boat. My feet touched the pavement seconds later and the air around me cushioned my landing. I put China down on the ground and watched as she used the Mist to turn into a Siberian husky. Then we walked across the street into the Empire State Building as if nothing had happened.

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Exactly fifteen minutes later, I was standing in front of my father, Zeus and my Lady Artemis in the Olympian throne room. The two deities standing before me were dressed in their normal mortal clothing. Zeus' consisted of his usual black suit with his striped tie, and Artemis was dressed modestly in jeans and a white top.

I knelt down to the ground facing my father first, and muttered, "My lord, Zeus." Then I turned and knelt to Artemis in greeting.

"Rise, my daughter," Zeus said in his deep rumble, which sounded like thunder rolling across the sky.

I stood up slowly, keeping my sight on my father at all times. He looked as if he were in pain - his eyes showed sorrow and lost and his shoulders were sagging as if he were Atlas carrying the sky on his shoulders. I felt sorry for him.

"Thalia, you're to go on an emergency mission," Artemis finally spoke, her voice was taut and her eyes were hard with resolve. "You are to collect three ancient artefacts belonging to the Old World."

I rubbed the nape of my neck. "Um, what _is _the Old World?"

Zeus answered my question, his voice taking on the tone of a History teacher. "The Old World was the period of time when the gods of the different civilizations banded together to create the world."

Artemis picked up off where my dad ended. "We already have one artefact from the Western civilization. The Lightning Bolt of Zeus will suffice. The rest is up to you to find. You must do this quickly. The Seven are on their quest to save Hera and you are to save the world."

_Oh great, _I sighed. _Why oh why couldn't I have just saved Hera and the Seven save the world? _I felt envious of my brother at this moment.

"When do I leave?" I directed my question to Zeus, staring into his grave eyes.

His eyes were stormy blue when he replied, and his face looked much older. "You leave now. I'll teleport you to international JFK airport. This is all the information I can give you. Good luck, Thalia."

Then I watched as he raised his lightning bolt and throw it at my direction. I caught it and immediately my surroundings began to swirl. Around and around they went, the colours blending into each other until I found myself standing in the waiting area to board a plane. I was in a big area with huge windows showing the planes and aisles of seats with passengers waiting to board the plane.

I made my way to a window seat, looking out at all the planes going into the terminal areas. As I sat down on the seat I realised that I was holding stuff in my hands. I looked at what they were: dark fashionable glasses, a dog harness and a fake passport with a boarding pass. China was sitting next to me wearing some kind of dog coat with the words, "GUIDE DOG" written in bold red letters.

"Of all disguises, I have to be _blind?" _I asked no one in particular.

China shot me a wicked wolf grin, as she was disguised as a husky. _"Deal with it, Princess."_

Giving her my signature scary look, I put on my shades and clasped the dog harness around her chest. "Be still," I told her sternly as she tried to wriggle out of my arms.

"Do you need help with that, miss?" I looked up to find a flight attendant dressed in a blue blouse and jacket with a business skirt.

"Hmm? Oh, yes please," I said, trying to keep up with my disguise.

The flight attendant bent down and fastened the harness around China easily. As she stood up, she paused as she became eye level with me. Then she winked and I was taken aback.

"_Lady Artemis?" _I asked quietly in shock.

Looking closely at her I could see that she had her auburn hair tied into a sleek bun underneath her stewardess cap.

"Hello, Thalia," she said and then she glanced down at the ticket I was holding in my hands. "You may want to look at where you are flying off to. Decide what to do next while you're on the plane."

I looked down at my ticket and saw in neatly printed letters, "NY TO ES."

_ES? ES as in... _I thought hard. _ES as in Es.. Espan... Espaniol- SPAIN? Why on earth would I need a ticket to Spain?_

"Artemis?" I asked. "Why do I need to go to- Artemis?" I looked up and Artemis was nowhere to be found. "China? Did you see-"

I was cut off from what I was saying by the speakers. _"All passengers flying to Spain on Sun Airways, flight ES4515 please make your way to the boarding lounge 25. Your plane is ready to board, thank you."_

China gave a tug on the harness that I was holding. _"Let's move, to get into the plane, first." _

We walked together to the boarding bridge and presented our tickets to the flight attendant standing there.

"Where's your parents, sweetie?" She asked me curiously, as she read the words on China's guide dog jacket.

"They're already in Spain," I replied. "They will pick me up there."

The answer seemed to satisfy her so she smiled and waved her hand to let me through. China "lead" me down the bridge where we found more happy flight attendants who guided me to my seat (which was a window seat, unfortunately) and put my duffle bag next to China on the floor.

"Have a nice trip! If you need anything, just press call," They told me.

Soon when all the passengers had boarded, the bridge leading from the plane to the building was slowly withdrawn as the doors of the plane closed. The plane then began to move to the air strip where it waited for the strip to clear so it could take off. As the plane moved to position, the speakers went on in the plane after the video guide was shown on the screens on the back of the seats.

"_Good morning, passengers of Sun Airways! This is Apollo, your captain of this flight. We're expecting sunny and warm weather in Madrid today and tomorrow. I hope you listened to the safety and rule guide. Have a nice trip... Um, have I forgotten anything, Arty?"_

"_Yes. You forgot to turn the microphone off, Apollo."_

A loud bang followed and the passengers looked nervously around at each other.

"_Er, nothing to worry about!" _I heard Apollo say, and the microphone turned off and the plane began to take off down the air strip.

I groaned. This was going to be the worst quest ever.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi, it's Skye :]**

**I'm giving you this long chapter because I might be away for some time. Gwen's on holidays so she has left me here. ;[**

**My sister broke her arm today in her gymnastics competition, so she's having an operation. I'm just chilling in the hospital room. So that's why I might not be writing anything for a little while, because I have to take care of my baby sister :]**

**Have a nice holiday!**

**~ SKYE :]**


	6. Meet the Aztecs

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO –cries-_

_Josh: -patpats-_

_Me: O_o –grabs and throws out of the story-_

_Josh: Heeeyyyyy! :C_

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><p>In the penthouse in Madrid, Spain, I was sitting on Apollo's beige leather couch facing the big French windows that showed the city. It was dusk, and the sky was a deep dark blue, casting shadows over the skyscrapers and buildings. The curtains on the windows were drawn back, giving me a panorama-like view of Madrid.<p>

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Artemis had moved over from where she was unpacking my clothes to sit next to me on the huge sofa. She had magically changed herself out of her flight attendant's uniform and was now lazing around Apollo's penthouse in a grey tracksuit, her hair loose and falling around her shoulders in ringlets.

"Of course it is," I murmured back to her, my eyes still transfixed on the beautiful blue colour of the sky.

Artemis smiled. "I've always loved the night. It's when the world is asleep and all is peaceful. Now, it's just-" She was abruptly cut off from her sentence by her brother who had sauntered out of the kitchen wearing a frilly pink polka dot apron and carrying a huge platter of paella and some kind of tapas.

"Dinner's ready!" He sang, and he walked over to the dining table where he placed the dish gently on a lazy Susan.

At the dinner table, I discussed the next step of the quest with my godly siblings.

"What am I even doing in Madrid?" I asked Apollo, as I scooped a heap of the seafood paella on my plate.

Apollo winked as he put a piece of his tapas in his mouth. "That's for us to know and you to find out."

I frowned. "The world is in danger, you have a possibility of being wiped out from existence and I have to figure out everything by myself when you've got information?"

Apollo nodded, his face looking delighted as he sliced up some fish on his plate.

"That is completely absurd and ridiculous! Life is unfair," I grumbled as I shovelled more food into my mouth.

Artemis tutted at me as I spoke with my mouth full, so I obediently closed it.

"Life isn't fair, Thalia," she said in a weary tone. "How about this? Tomorrow, Apollo and I will guide you to one of Spain's finest tourist attractions, the Puerta Del Sol. From there you will make your first step of the quest."

I settled back on my chair, looking at the two deities. "Okay, that's a plan. So, tell me more about this Puerta Del Sol."

Apollo flashed me a grin and his teeth were so blindingly white it looked as if I were looking at the sun itself. "Puerta Del Sol is known as the centre of Madrid. It's Spanish for the Gate of the Sun. Arty, here thinks that it's the camp for the A-mmph!" Artemis clamped a hand over Apollo's mouth and gave him a stern look.

"What my brother means is that we advise you to go look around that place. See if you can link any ancient artefacts with civilizations." Artemis then pulled her hand away from Apollo's mouth so quickly that she caused a slight disturbance in the air. "Eww!" She said disgustedly, her face showing contempt. "Did you lick me, brother?"

Apollo gave a devilish grin and he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Urgh, boys." Artemis grumbled, and she stood up from the table to stalk off and wash her hands.

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"What are you doing?" I asked China. I was hanging upside down from my bed and I could feel the blood rushing to my head making me feel a little woozy. I straightened up so that I was sitting cross-legged and facing my furry companion.

China was sitting on a doona on the floor of Apollo's guest bedroom. Why he had a guest bedroom or a penthouse in Spain was beyond my understanding. China had some kind of round object between her paws which she kept staring at, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was a compass.

_"I'm just thinking,"_ she said finally, _"about your quest for the artefacts."_

I crawled over to the window in the bedroom to gaze out at the moon. "And?" I asked.

China looked up at me_. "Lord Zeus said the words 'civilization' and he mentioned other gods who created the world. The Greek and Roman deities are the Western civilization gods. They ruled Rome when it was at its most powerful. Then they ruled Britain, and now New York. But that is the Greeks and Romans. Their culture is the Western civilization..." _China trailed off, her china blue eyes thoughtful._ "It had me thinking,"_ she said, _"about a compass. North, South, East and West. The four main compass points. Of course there are others, like North-South and East-northeast. But what if the world is like a compass? It's definitely round like a compass. We've got West in power with the Greeks and Romans, but then what of the other three compass points?"_

I turned to look at my genius wolf. "You are like a gift from Athena!" She looked down and her ears flattened as if she were embarrassed. "Dad said that I had to collect three other ancient artefacts. I've got one here," I patted my dad's lightning bolt which was in my bag next to me," and I need to collect three more. Maybe the world IS a compass! So if our gods is 'West' on the compass, what is 'East', 'South and 'North'?"

_"I_ _was thinking about that, too,"_ China admitted. "_I thought that 'South' could be South America. Do you know any South American gods?"_

I thought hard about the question. It seemed like a test rather, to see whether I had paid attention in History class at Camp Half-Blood and at school.

"I can think of three," I finally said aloud. "The Mayans, the Aztecs and the Incans."

_"No, not the Mayans," _China said_. "It's either the Incans or the Aztecs. They had the biggest empires."__  
><em>  
>I sighed and flopped down on my bed, drawing up the soft sheets around my waist. "Well, the Incans and Aztecs were huge empires. The Incans settled in around modern day Peru and the Aztecs in Mexico. The Aztecs though had left the biggest legacy and their culture still remains in the city of Mexico... Holy Zeus, China!" I exclaimed as the idea bloomed in my head. "The Aztecs! The Aztecs is the Southern civilization! I need to find an old Aztec relic. But why am I in Spain?"<p>

I gazed down on the floor where the moonlight had seeped through the sheer curtains and was spilling onto the floor. The light made China's fur a titanium colour.

_"Think, Thalia_," she urged. "_Who CONQUERED the Aztecs?"_

I frowned, which made my eyebrows scrunch together and my face contort into what China called my constipated look. "Conquered... Conque... Conquise? Conquistadors! That's it!" I bolted up straight with my finger in the air to emphasize my finding."The Spanish conquistadors!"

_"Give the lady an award!_" China laughed, not unkindly.

"So," I said thoughtfully. "Let me guess, the Aztec gods moved to Spain?"

_"It's what looks like it,_" China replied, playing with the compass on the floor.

"Apollo mentioned a camp at dinner. He was about to say something but Artemis stopped him. He mentioned a camp for the 'A'. Artemis cut him off from whatever he was going to say. However I bet on the River Styx that he was going to say 'Aztec'."

China didn't say anything so I looked down on the floor to see that she was already sleeping, her paws curling neatly underneath her head and the compass lying on the floor. I was tempted to take a picture but I didn't have a camera with me. I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. It looked embossed, with curly patterns swirling around the light which hung in the middle of the room. A clock ticked softly nearby and outside of the room in the streets below I could hear the rustling and bustling of the city night. Slowly I drifted off into sleep.

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The next day, Artemis and Apollo stood true to their word and brought me to the Puerta Del Sol. The central square was crowded- I saw many people walking and hurrying to get to places- and there were some people who stopped to stare at Apollo and Artemis. Despite loving attention though, Apollo seemed edgy and he kept looking around nervously. Artemis had a calm composure but her eyes were darting left and right every few minutes or so.

"So," Apollo cleared his throat, turning to speak to me. "This is the Gate of the Sun, as you can see, Madrid's busiest central square."

I looked around from where I was standing. I was standing next to the Bear and the Madrono Tree statue which towered above my small frame. Looking straight ahead, I could see the building which used to be one of the city gates to Madrid. There were many shops, bars and restaurants around that I could hardly believe that any deities would set a camp here.

"_Look, Thalia," _China nudged me with her nose and pointed up to the top of the Puerta Del Sol. I glanced up, shielding my eyes from the hot sun. There at the top of the bell cleverly shrouded in Mist was a metal door. The sun glinted off the metal, making it shine.

"Oh, Holy Hades," I moaned. Artemis looked over at me with a slightly amused expression and Apollo gave me a confused look. "What?" He said, not noticing that I was looking up at the bell in horror.

"She found it!" I heard Artemis whisper happily to her brother. Then she turned to me, her silver eyes alight with... joy? "This is where we shall leave you. This is all I can do to help. We can't be here any longer, we're not in our domain any more. Goodbye and good luck, sister." She caressed my cheek gently and smiled. "Come on, Apollo," she said to her brother and they both turned and walked off into one of the streets.

"Well," I sighed. "Do you think you could manipulate the Mist to cover us while I climb?"

China looked up at me. _"Okay. Let's do this!"_

I walked up to the red and cream building, now used as the headquarters of the President of Madrid's Autonomous Community. I then walked up next to the door and placed my foot on the window sill for leverage. I grabbed China with my free hand, using my feet and other hand for support, and pulled myself up. I had a sort of fear that the old building would crumble like sandstone. It didn't, fortunately. I worked my way up the building, almost falling off at one point but using the air to help support me. I finally reached the famous clock, and I jumped up to the bell using the air to help push me up.

"We're up," I breathed heavily. "Where's the door? Quick, before I go dizzy from looking down at the square!"

I let go of China and watched her teeter-totter over to the shiny metal door. On closer inspection, there was no handle. I swore colourfully.

"Now what?" I leaned against the door tiredly, ignoring the hot metal which scorched my skin. The door swung open suddenly and I fell in. China padded carefully in after my fall and glanced around. We were standing on some strip of land which surrounded a huge island in the middle. As soon as I had stepped foot (or rather, fell) into this place, I felt uneasy. This place didn't feel right to me, and I knew I had to be alert.

"_Remember where the Aztecs lived?" _China said. _"They lived on Tenochtitlan, an island. It was hard for their enemies to get to because it had causeways on the lake which could be moved."_

I nodded at China and looked around the place for some kind of road. Before I could walk over to it, I felt a cold metal press against the nape of my neck.

"Take one step closer, intruder, and you die." The voice was deep, cold and menacing, the English was spoken with a heavy Spanish accent.

I lifted my hands up in surrender. "I'm unarmed," I told the unknown person who was standing behind me. "Let me go, I need to speak to your Camp leader."

The pressure against my neck disappeared as swiftly as it had been placed. The voice gave a chuckle. "That would be me, _chica."_

As fast as lightning, I was gripped by my waist and spun around. There facing me was a handsome boy. He had tanned skin and dark green eyes. His hair was wavy and curled just below his ears. He was wearing normal mortal clothes- a black shirt with green board shorts. His clothes were a bit ripped and I guessed that it was more from heavy duty wear rather than for a fashion statement. He was carrying something underneath his arm, it looked like a jaguar's head adorned with brightly coloured feathers, its jaws wide and fangs ready to bite.

The boy sheathed the dagger he pulled out of his belt around his waist and eyed me warily. "Who are you, _querido?" _He asked me as he eyed me up and down, taking in all of my Hunter's battle gear and scuffed combat boots.

"I'm Thalia Grace, daughter of the Greek god, Zeus, lord of the sky," I told him and his eyes widened a fraction. "Now that I've told you who I am, will you tell me who you are?"

He looked down at China, who was staring at him with intimidating look on her face. "The name is Carlos. Carlos Ramirez. Son of Quetzalcoatl, god of humanity, earth, sky and a creator of mankind. Come," He said, offering his hand. "I'll take you to the centre of the camp."

I was surprised at Carlos' friendly greeting. "Aren't you going to check if I'm a monster?" I asked him curiously as he led me onto one of the causeways.

He grinned. "No."

When we reached the Aztec camp, I was surprised. The place was like a Mexican paradise. There were two huge buildings in the centre of the "island". They looked like pyramids with steps.

Carlos saw me looking. "That's the Great Square," he said. "We don't do any human sacrifices any more. Now we just offer food and pray."

I looked around at all the other buildings which surrounded the Great Square. There were many two-storey houses made of what looked like clay. I could see many children around. They were playing some sort of ball game. Most of the campers had olive or tanned skin with brunette or black hair. Those with brown eyes reminded me of my cousin, Nico.

I followed Carlos to a slightly smaller step pyramid which was perpendicular to the Great Square pyramid. He motioned for me to follow him in the pyramid. Up in the room, there was a huge desk with papers strewn all over the place. He set his jaguar helmet down on the desk and sat on his chair, propping his feet up on the table. I sat on the chair opposite him, China sitting next to me.

"Well?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. "Why have you come here?"

I glanced down at China. _"Tell him about the quest," _she suggested. I nodded and turned to look at Carlos, who had his green eyes fixed onto me.

"My father, the Greek god Zeus has put me on this quest. I am to find three artefacts of the three main civilizations of the world," I told him, my hand placed on China's head for reassurance. "One of those civilizations is yours. I need to find something of the Aztecs."

Carlos stared at me intently. "What if I do not permit you to take it?"

I stared back at him, and said in a flat monotone, "The world ends. Gaea, or as others would say, Mother Earth, is awakening. Her movements in the earth will be catastrophic if we cannot defeat her and send her to sleep again. To defeat her, we need the four main weapons of the four main civilizations of the world. I already have the Western civilization's weapon. Now I am requesting for you and your gods to help. Join me and the other two to help save the world. It's our only hope."

"How do I know you're not fibbing?" He said, opening out a drawer and pulling out something shiny and gold.

"I'll prove to you that I have Zeus' lightning bolt." I replied, and pulled out my father's lightning bolt. It glowed bright at my touch, and began to crackle with energy. I had caught Carlos' attention now, and he was staring at the lightning bolt in awe.

"You could have stolen it," Carlos stubbornly said, and I sighed with annoyance.

"Come with me outside and I'll show you that I am the daughter of Zeus. I swear on the River Styx." I heard thunder rumbling as soon as I said that. Carlos did not look as if he believed me, and he called out, "Don't rain yet, Lord Tlaloc."

He frowned but walked with me out of the pyramid into the Great Square. Just below the Great Square was an arena. It didn't look like Camp Half-Blood's arena. This arena looked more bloodthirsty. It was spiked around some edges and there were red stains on some parts of the dirt ground.

I raised the lightning bolt above my head and focused on calling down lightning. There was a loud bang and flash, and the lightning flew through the sky and into the lightning bolt. The lightning bolt radiated a bright white and yellow colour. The sparks flying off it were a luminous blue. I released the lightning, sending it flying back up to the sky.

"There," I said through gritted teeth, as I struggled to control the power. "If I were another demigod other than the child of Zeus, I'd be ash by now.

Carlos looked impressed, his green eyes now looking at me in a new light. "I'll help you," he finally said. "On one condition. You must duel me, first."

I couldn't help but gape at him. "_What?_"

He grinned. "You heard me clearly, _chica._ Duel me."

"The world is in mortal danger and I need your help! This is no time for duelling," I glared at him, but he annoyingly smiled back. "Fine," I growled, as a crowd of Aztec demigods started surrounding us. They looked as if they were going to enjoy the forthcoming battle between us.

"If you win, I'll join you and bring with me my father's weapon."

"And if I lose?" I asked suspiciously as we started to circle each other like tigers. I waved my hand, signalling China to back away from our fight. Then I felt my pocket. The cool metal of my Mace canister greeted my fingers. My bracelet, Aegis, turned warm and I could feel it throbbing against my wrist, itching to be used.

Carlos slipped his fingers into the belt around his waist and pulled out the shiny gold things I saw earlier. He slipped them on his knuckles and I realized they were knuckledusters. He tapped it and I saw metal claws spring out. He then pulled some gold cylindrical tube out and I watched as it expanded into a gold spear, tipped with feathers. Next, someone threw a painted shield over to him which he caught deftly.

I pulled out my Mace canister and held it arm length in front of me. It expanded into my celestial bronze spear. I heard some Aztec boys whoop at my acceptance of a duel. Then I tapped Aegis and it expanded, the face of Medusa snarling at everyone. Some younger demigods looked scared of my shield and it made me slightly more confident.

I faced Carlos as we stopped circling each other. He smirked and I frowned.

Then, he winked. "If I win, you kiss me."

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><p><em>AN: Thank you so much to my best friend Josh for helping me! _

_If you're a nice person, will you leave me a review? ^^_

_~SKYE :]_

Next time...

"Do you give up?" Carlos hissed, digging his claws deeper into my back.

I felt my blood well up underneath my Hunter's gear and a slow throbbing pain shot through my lower back.

"No," I growled, and with nearly inhuman strength, I used the air to throw him off. Whilst he was distracted, I quickly used the air to mend my skin. The back of my gear was shredded, as if a cat had clawed through the material. I saw gashes on my white skin. The cool air touched it and cleansed the blood away. My skin stitched itself together, and within moments it was a pale scar.


	7. When in Rome

_**Disclaimer: We don't own PJO or HoO.**_

****_Quetzalcoatl: pronounced Kayt-zahl-ko-ahtl. A kind and wise Aztec god, also known as the Plumed Serpent. He was described in the prophecy of the Aztecs as a white, bearded man. He played an important part in the downfall of the Aztecs, when they believed that the Spanish conquistadors were Quetzalcoatl. Unlike the war god, Huitzilipochtil (Weets-ee-loh-poche-tlee) and other Aztec deities, Quetzalcoatl was kind and wise. He was banished from the kingdom, resulting in Huitzilopochtli to take over as the patron god of the Aztecs (that is why they were so bloodthirsty). _

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><p>I held my spear out an arms-length away from my body, and lowered it slightly, dropping into a defensive stance. I wanted to win this battle- no, I <em>needed <em>to win this battle - but first I had to test him, see what his strengths and weaknesses are so I could take him down more easily. As you probably know how the old saying goes: if you know your opponent, then half the battle is already won.

Carlos was opposite me in a crouch. Someone in the arena had passed him the jaguar's helmet that I had seen him carrying around earlier. He was wearing it now and the mask shielded his eyes from the scorching sun. The sun lit up the golden head fur, making it shine like the golden spear he was carrying. I couldn't see his facial expression due to the shade that his mask was giving. The mask, I assumed, acted like the Medusa on my shield. The eyes of the jaguar were fierce, showing rage, and the jaws were wide open in a snarl. Through the mouth of the jaguar helmet, Carlos' partly covered face was shown.

The Aztec battle gear was not very different to the Greek's. The battle gear gave the same purposes as did the Greek's, but their style was of course was different. Their style was much more... blocky. It was kind of sturdy looking. They had a breastplate, arm guards and leg guards, the usual. However it seemed a bit more... tougher? A brightly painted shield was in his hand. The thing which made me feel a bit nervous and kind of curious was the green aura that Carlos was emitting. I knew it was a blessing from a deity. I have one myself, a blinding silver aura from Lady Artemis. What made me nervous was the fact that I didn't know who gave him that blessing. What kind of powers did it have?

In that moment, that one heartbeat that it took for me to think that, he attacked. He lunged at me from his crouch, his claws outstretched like a fearsome big cat. I acted on instinct, ducking down and lifting Aegis up. He effortlessly knocked my shield away, twisting my left wrist as he did so. Then as quick as he was there, he leapt away. This thing happened for a few times. It was like he was taunting me. I kept to the defensive, blocking each move just in time.

The audience were one wild bunch. The girls were screaming and cheering, their faces painted with red and green streaks. The boys were shouting out Spanish phrases, mostly repeating the words, "_Toro! Toro!" _and "_Lucha! Lucha!"_

I knew that _toro _meant 'bull', but I had no idea what _lucha _meant. As I dodged another attack, to the screams of the crowd, I thought of what kind of fighting Spain was renowned for- bull fights. Ah, so that was what they meant. Our battling must look like a bull fight, with Carlos attacking and me dodging.

Slowly as we continued fighting, I could feel the sun sapping my strength. I could feel it scorching me, and the silver Hunter's uniform I was wearing wasn't helping much. It was a full body suit, not quite suitable for the arid conditions that I was facing now. Carlos was faring much better than I. His mask kept the sun off his eyes, and I could tell that he had a lot of practice battling in the sun.

I blinked the sunlight out of my eyes, praying to Apollo to just leave me alone and go shine somewhere else. That was when he leapt at me again, being careful to leap where the sun shone in my eyes so that I could not see him coming. He landed on my chest, knocking the air out of me. Then skilfully he flipped me around so that my face was pressed into the red dirt. I felt his knee press into the middle of my back, driving me deeper into the ground.

"Do you give up?" He hissed, and a sharp pain flooded my lower back as I felt his gold claws scratch me deep. I turned my head slightly and saw the blood well up from my now torn Hunter's uniform.

"Bite me," I growled, and with near inhuman strength, I used the air to fling him off my back.

While he was distracted a few meters away, I took the opportunity to heal myself. I manipulated the air, forcing it down to my back where the cool air touched it and cleansed the blood away. My skin stitched itself together and within moments the results showed a pale white scar. I gave a quick glance at the back of my gear, noting the gashes that were there. It looked like a cat had clawed through the material.

"Damn!" I cursed. "I've already ruined eight of these suits! Artemis is going to kill me!"

I turned around to face the front again to find that Carlos was at the edge of the arena, grinning like the Cheshire cat to the crowd. I quickly used this moment to think of a certain history lesson with a wise blonde girl.

"_Remember," _her voice echoed in my head. _"The Aztecs were warriors, and they would fight anyone and anything. They were fearless, brutal and strong."_

I sighed. I knew now that Carlos was quite strong, and it would only take a few hard blows to bring me down. I had to end this battle quickly. _Time to go into attack mode, _I sighed.

Turning around, I crouched down, and as he spotted me I could see his green eyes narrow from underneath his mask. That was when I attacked, jabbing my spear with my right hand, because my left wrist was turning a nasty purple colour. He parried my jabbing effortlessly, and whilst doing so he tapped his knuckles against the side of his spear, unsheathing his gold claws again.

I walked backwards slowly, switching to defence mode again as he started pressing forwards, stalking me and attacking me like a jaguar ('_The Jaguar warriors were the best warriors,' _Annabeth read aloud from a book). I blocked his shots, even though my muscles were beginning to tire. I decided to switch to another tack. I had to try and evade him for a little while, til I got my strength back. Using my speed and agility to evade him, I managed to get a few feet away, calling down a lightning bolt from the sky to distract him for a few more moments. The aim of the bolt couldn't be truer, but I was startled as the boy raised a hand and flicked a finger, sending it straight for me. My eyes widened as I leapt out of the way as the bolt struck the place that I was standing a few moments ago. He lunged at me again and I had to turn my spear sideways to block the blows. As I was pushed back to the edge of the arena, I could tell he was getting overconfident.

Finally I saw my chance. In slow motion I saw him swing his spear a little too wide. I curled my right hand into a fist and sucker punched him squarely in the face. He fell down like a sack of bricks, a fine mist of blood spurting from his nose.

The arena went quiet and the only noise that could be heard was my breathing, coming out in fast, hard pants. Then he sat up, the blood trickling down his chin. I walked over to him and held out my hand; a gesture of peace. His jaw clenched and his eyes were green molten pools of lava as he glared at me for a few heartbeats before he let out his breath and accepted my hand. I pulled him up and then the crowd gave a loud roar- their approval of me.

"You did well, _chica," _Carlos told me, wiping away the blood with his shirt. "You fight well. I would be honoured to join this quest of yours."

-!-

"Ow!" I hissed, as I turned my torso gently to face the full mirror in front of me. I examined my body carefully, running my fingers up and down the bruises and cuts. There were all shallow cuts, and the bruises didn't look too bad. I had fared worse before.

China winced a little as she too examined my bruised torso. We were in one of the clay houses which we had spotted earlier upon entering the Aztec domain. Even though Carlos had generously accommodated us in this house for the night, I still didn't feel at ease with being in the Aztec world. Perhaps it was because I am of Greek heritage.

I was standing in front of the mirror in the room, only clad in black tracksuit pants and my black sports bra. As I lifted my arms up to check the bruises on my inner arm, I heard a low whistle. China growled menacingly behind me, so I glanced at the mirror to find Carlos leaning on the door frame, his eyes roaming up and down my body. I flushed a deep red and crossed my arms across my chest.

"What do you want?" I snapped, and then groaned a bit as I accidentally dug my fingernails in my arm, where unfortunately my biggest bruise was.

Carlos rolled his eyes and pushed off from the door frame, walking towards me. Then when he was a metre away he said, "Here." He thrust out his hand which was holding a zip-locked bag of...

"Chocolate?" I rose an eyebrow at him questioningly. China padded to sit next to me, sniffing the chocolates suspiciously.

Carlos rolled his eyes again. "Not just any chocolates, _chica. _This is the food of the Gods. We often sacrifice some to propitiate the Gods. It will help heal you."

I uncrossed my arms and nodded my thanks as he gave me the bag. "Thanks. So this is the Aztec version of ambrosia and nectar, hmm?"

He looked at me with an unreadable expression before replying, "I've never heard of this ambrosia or nectar. Is it like our cacao?"

I dropped the chocolate bag to the floor, and as I slowly bent down to pick it up, China did it for me. I looked down at her with a curious face, and she gave a slight nod: _this is okay to eat, _she seemed to be saying.

Popping a chocolate piece into my mouth, I felt its powers begin to work. The chocolate tasted like the best thing in the world. It melted down my throat and made my whole body feel warm. I felt a buzzing feeling in my fingertips, and as I glanced down at my body I saw that all the cuts and bruises were gone.

"It worked," I said, surprised, prodding my body at the spots where the bruises were.

"Of course it worked. I just told you that chocolate is the food of the Gods."

"_Funny," _China barked next to me. _"I thought that blood was the Aztec Gods food."_

"Apparently not," I whispered, before turning to Carlos.

"We leave tomorrow, _correcto?"_ He asked.

I nodded my head mutely before pulling my zip up hoodie over my head. "That sounds about right."

"Where are we going?" He asked, staring into my eyes.

I felt uncomfortable so I quickly glanced away to look at China. I shot China a questioning glance. She stared right back at me before replying, _"When in Rome, do as the Roman's do." _She then turned over to look at Carlos, who was watching the exchange between us.

"Camp Jupiter," I blurted out, and he gave me a surprised look.

"Jupiter is the name of the Roman god of the skies. This means we are going to a Roman camp, yes?" He asked slowly.

"Just to talk to someone quickly," I added, noting his dark expression.

He nodded his head curtly before standing up straight. "Meet me at the arena tomorrow at 6am sharp. I'll have to collect my father's weapon before we go to help you on the quest. _Buenas noches, chica." _He quickly left the room.

I plopped down on my lumpy bed, flicking off the light as I did so. The bed gave a loud squeak and lowered a bit as China leapt up to sleep at the foot. She circled around two times before settling down, her tail tucked around her nose.

"_So, we go to Camp Jupiter?" _China asked.

"Yeah. That's what you said, remember?" I replied, shifting around on the uncomfortable mattress.

"_No, I didn't. I only said 'When in Rome'." _

"This led me to think of Rome."

"_But... Oh, never mind. Just go to sleep."_

-!-

The next morning I was dressed in my usual Hunter's attire. My clothes were different from that of the other Hunter's because I refused to wear that sparkly, glittery silver parka jacket and pants. Instead I wore a black tank top with _'Green Day' _scrawled over the front, black pants and my scuffed, old combat boots. My duffle bag was over my shoulder; my father's Lightning Bolt securely zipped and locked up.

I was with China, sitting on one of the seats at the arena where Carlos told us to meet. He entered the arena a few minutes later than us, and accompanying him was a tall broad shouldered man. He had a giant green serpent head mask, covering the whole of his face. The serpent's eyes were a ruby red, reminding me of Leo's mechanical dragon, Festus. On top of the serpent's head were brightly coloured feathers. The man had scaly greenish type of skin, and one of his huge hands was on Carlos' shoulder.

As soon as they started to approach us, I leapt over the seats with China at my heel. This man projected an aura of power. Judging from experience, I knew that this being was a God. A powerful god, to be exact. When they drew nearer I bowed my head and knelt. It was always useful to be respectful to gods you've never met before. If you weren't careful they could blast you to smithereens.

"_Padre," _Carlos spoke. "This is the Greek girl who leads the quest. Her name is Thalia," then he turned to me. "Thalia, this is my father, Quetzalcoatl. He is the equivalent of your... Zeus."

I glanced up at the serpent god, and he gestured for me to rise. "Carlos has told me of your quest and the bet you made with him and won," at this, Carlos looked down at his feet, a small blush covering his cheeks, "I agree to let him go on the quest."

I rose up slowly, meeting Lord Quetzalcoatl's eyes. "Thank you, my Lord," I told him gratefully. "I'll protect him for you." I shot Carlos a small wink as I watched his face morph into that of complete shock. His mouth opened as he tried to object, but I decided to speak at that instant.

"My lord," I addressed the Aztec deity. "If you don't mind, would you please... teleport us to San Francisco? Time is running out, and we need to move as fast as possible."

Quetzalcoatl looked at me critically, and it felt as if his ruby eyes were boring into me. Finally he nodded his serpent head, the tongue flicking out slowly. "Stand in the middle of the arena and hold hands."

We did as he told, Carlos and I holding hands and China lifted her paw for me to hold. Just like in Olympus the arena began to swim slowly, the only thing remaining perfectly still was the ruby red eyes of the Aztec god. The arena swirled around and around, the orange and red of the dirt blending and mixing together, until before we knew it we were standing on the edge of a busy highway, facing two tunnel entrances.

I gaped. "He _knew!" _I gasped, turning to look at Carlos, releasing my hand of his grip.

"Knew what?" He asked, puzzled.

"Your father knew where I wanted to go! The Roman camp!" I pointed towards the middle of the tunnels, where a cement wall with what looked suspiciously like a metal door was. Flanking the door were two kids dressed in full Roman battle gear. They had helmets with long plumes and purple t-shirts and jeans with gold breast plates and other armour on top.

We walked slowly over to the two kids who eyed us warily. "Um, hey?" I said, and they quickly pulled their spears to point at Carlos' throat and my throat. I lifted my hands up.

"We're not here to infiltrate your camp or anything," I explained. "I just need to talk to Annabeth. I know she's here."

They both looked at me suspiciously and I sighed. "I don't want to have to do this, but it's either the easy way, which is you let me in, or it's going to be the hard way." The two didn't budge, so I let out a long, low whistle. "China, go get 'em."

Being too absorbed with the two demigods (being Carlos and I), the two Roman demigods didn't realise that there were three threats. China who was prowling behind me, ready to attack when called, suddenly pounced on the Roman's, hitting them sideways and clearing the entrance for us. She latched on to one of their arms, giving them a warning bite, before letting go of them, satisfied that they had lost their weapons.

I walked over to them. "I'm Thalia Grace," I told the shocked half-bloods. "And this is Carlos Ramirez. You've already met China. So now will you let us through?" I offered them my hand which they accepted.

"I'm Hazel and this is Frank," the girl spoke, still looking at us suspiciously. "We'll lead you to the praetors, and they'll decide what to do with you."

She opened the door, leaving the other half-blood –Frank- to guard the entrance. We travelled through a tunnel, and when we reached the end, the scenery was overwhelming. We had arrived at a bowl-shaped valley. It was like stepping into Narnia. Carlos let out a whistle.

"Follow me; I'll take you to Percy. He'll know what to do," Hazel said, continuing to walk down the slope.

"Wait, wait, wait! Percy? As in Percy Jackson?" I asked as we walked down together.

Hazel nodded, "Yes. He's our second praetor."

We reached the bottom of the slope where a river was flowing rapidly. Hazel jumped in the stream and started wading across, waving at the other demigods on the other side.

"We have visitors, Percy!" She called, pushing strongly across the current. "Says their names are Thalia and Carlos!"

I stared across the river and there was Percy and a group of other half-bloods, one of which I recognized as Annabeth. Her face had a look of horror as she saw me approaching. She quickly elbowed Percy, causing him to double over in pain. Confused, I was about to put a foot in the water to wade through when Percy seemed to have caught on to what Annabeth was saying. He looked up and his expression was mirroring Annabeth's. "Thalia!" He hollered, "Don't go through the water, don't!"

Startled at the reaction I was being given, I lost my balance and with a huge splash, I fell in the water. As soon as a part of my touched the water, I felt bad. Really bad. As in that way you would feel as if something was being ripped away from you. I resurfaced the water, coughing and spluttering everywhere, crawling up the other side of the bank. Carlos stood on the other side with China, his face looking kind of anguished. I pulled myself up on the bank where I collapsed, still trying to get the water out from my lungs. I felt sick, and when I glanced up I saw that the other people on my side of the bank were looking at me with surprise.

Then Annabeth rushed towards me, "Thalia, are you okay?"

I coughed and she helped me to stand up. That was when I realised something. I wasn't glowing. I poked myself in the ribs. It hurt a bit. I looked at my hands. They weren't glowing either, and I felt as if someone had left me. I looked at Annabeth in horror. "My blessing of Artemis... It's gone!"

* * *

><p><em>AN: _

_Gwen: We're back! Did you miss us? C:_

_Skye: Sorry for the late update! We kind of had other things going around..._

_Special thanks to Josh for helping!_

_- GWEN & SKYE._


	8. When in Rome pt 2

_**Disclaimer:**__** We do not own PJO or HoO.**_

_****A/N: Oh. Mah. Gawsh. I'm so sorry for not updating. The best I can do is like give you some excuses or something, but I won't subject you to that. - Gwen._

_Shout out to "Mistah J" (Joshy-wash). - Skye. _

* * *

><p>I shivered uncontrollably as a cold breeze swept past me and the stunned group. Everyone on both sides of the river was staring at me in surprise. Some were standing with their mouths gaping open, others with a grim expression.<p>

Annabeth was crouching next to me, an anxious expression on her face. There was a movement in the crowd as they parted to let a single boy pass through. Jason skidded into a halt as he bent down and pulled me up.

"Deep breaths, Thalia," he told me, and I tried to do as he say. The shock of losing my blessing had not yet subsided. I breathed in and out and tried to get my breathing to even out.

Carefully I stood up with the support of my brother, Annabeth and Percy. As I leaned on Percy for support, Jason gently manipulated the air to sweep all the water off me. While he did so, a tall glossy black-haired girl pushed her way to the front. She was standing with a haughty expression on her face, her arms crossed on her chest. Gold bangles jingled on her wrists as she walked and a visible _SPQR _tattoo stood like black ink from paper on her skin. The girl was dressed in the same purple toga like Percy, and she wore it with much more grace and elegance than Percy. Personally, I thought that Percy's toga resembled a much wrinkled towel.

"Percy," she asked in a strong tone. "What do we have here?"

I didn't like the way she looked at me. It made me feel vulnerable and weak. She stood tall and imposing over my small frame, and her brown eyes were hard like cold brown rocks. Her mouth twitched into a small sneer and I felt a ball of rage bloom in my chest. If I were a normal girl, I would have cowered under her heated glare. But I wasn't just a normal girl. I was Thalia Grace.

I pushed Percy away and stood up with no support. Instead of matching her glare with one of my own, I decided to smile and watch her get even more riled up.

"This is-" Percy began, but Annabeth shot him a look.

"I'm Thalia. Thalia Grace." I told the girl and she raised an eyebrow.

"Grace?" She asked suspiciously, looking between Jason and me. "Are you re-" She broke off from her sentence and lifted up a hand to stifle a gasp.

One by one, the Roman campers began to kneel to the ground, chanting. "Hail Thalia Grace, daughter of Jupiter, descendant of the Spartans!"

Reyna scowled to herself, looking puzzled as she too knelt. I was bewildered. Spartans? As in, like, the movie _300_ where the Spartan king, King Leonidas yells out, "_THIS IS SPARTA!"? _ I turned to look at Percy and shot him a 'Whaaaat?' expression. He shrugged at me then pointed up. I looked up to find a golden glowing lightning bolt encircling my head, but surrounding my father's symbol was a letter 'V' turned upside down.

"_Thalia! What do you see?" _I heard China's voice in my head. I showed her telepathically the image of the upside down V.

"_That's the Greek letter Λ. It stands for 'Lacedaemon', Sparta's ancient name," s_he told me.

"Oh." I mumbled and turned to face the girl dressed in purple.

"My name is Reyna, I am the current praetor of Camp Jupiter," she introduced herself. "Since you have proven yourself worthy of the gods, I shall let you rest here until you regain your strength. You may leave whenever you wish." Reyna then gave me a genuine smile and Jason a shy smile, before walking off.

"Your girlfriend?" I asked him and he turned red.

"Thalia!" He half-groaned and I snickered.

"It's okay, I'm your sister. You can tell me."

I heard someone clearing their throat and I turned around to find a tall gangly boy with blonde hair and a slightly crazed look in his blue eyes. He was wearing a faded purple t-shirt with an off-white toga on top. In his right hand he was carrying a ceremonial knife and in his left a mutated teddy bear with one eye missing and fluff coming out from a huge gouge on its side. The boy gave an extravagant bow, his hair flopping into his eyes.

"Thalia Grace!" He opened his mouth and words came pouring out so fast. "I have heard that you are the daughter of the all powerful Jupiter! I have read the entrails of an eagle and-"

I whispered to Percy, not moving my eyes away from the demented demigod. "Did he really-?"

"No. He reads polyester and stuffing. He's a teddy bear murderer." Percy told me and he frowned as he said the last sentence, muttering something about a 'poor Panda pillow pet'.

"- the entrails have said very interesting things about you. They say that you will be a great leader, even though you are a Greek, but you will rule the other four civilisations!"

"Oh, Zeus," I muttered. "Help me."

A collective gasp rose from the few half-bloods standing around me. The creepy boy gave a squeal of delight and fell flat on his face on the ground. He slowly crawled up my boots and I recoiled slightly away from him.

"The gods have spoken!" He shouted from the dirt. "They have blessed you as the Chosen One!"

"Octavian, just please go away," Percy sighed in annoyance, but the boy – Octavian, it seems- stood up and drew himself to his full height, which was shorter than Percy, so it wasn't very imposing.

"Chosen One? What is this, Star Wars?" I asked Annabeth and she gave a grin and a shrug.

"No, Thalia. He's just... mad. Octavian was just getting hyped up over a blessing." Jason spoke up from my side. Blessing? What on earth was he talking about? I raised my arms up for a stretch, and as they passed by my face, I realised that my arms and hands were glowing. My eyes widened and I decided to delve deeper into my mind to see if there was something different. And there was.

My mind no longer followed the call of freedom, the call of the wild and of Artemis. There was a pleasant feeling in my body, sort of as if it were detached from the Earth. It felt as if I were floating on air, up in the sky above the clouds.

"What colour am I?" I asked Percy, and he looked at me weirdly.

"Um... skin coloured?" He replied. "See?" He raised one of my arms up and wiggled it in front of my face.

"No! I meant what colour is the blessing?"

"It's a shocking blue," Annabeth told me, shoving Percy aside to look at my skin carefully. "Like the colour of your eyes. I think it's the blessing of Jupiter."

"AHA!" Octavian shouted, and we all jumped. "I was right!" He crowed, pumping his arms up and down.

I couldn't help my eye from twitching slightly as he did some kind of krumping dance on the spot.

-!-

"So this is the Roman camp, huh?" I asked, spinning around in a circle.

"Yep." Annabeth answered to my right. We were walking together towards the Principia, the headquarters and praetor's office.

I had spoken to Carlos just after meeting the Augur (Octavian). To be honest, the conversation wasn't at all very comforting. He called over the river, which was called the Little Tiber (no surprise there, seeing as New Rome was trying to copy Old Rome), saying that he would take a walk around San Francisco. I asked him when he would return, and he replied, "As soon as you need me." He then proceeded to walk out of the Caldecott tunnel entrance, which was the entrance that we came through earlier.

China was sitting calmly by the edge of the Little Tiber, waiting for a signal from me during the entire conversation. Percy's new friend, the daughter of Had- I mean, Pluto, Hazel, told me it was okay for China to go through the river.

"How come?" I asked her curiously, wondering why China was able to pass through and I wasn't.

"The wolf is a sacred animal to the Romans. It was a she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus, and because of this, the wolf is special to us." Hazel told me as she beckoned China over. China took a tentative step forwards, sniffing the small but very strong river. Carefully she waded through the river before hauling herself out on the other side and shaking her pelt furiously, causing the water droplets to fly everywhere.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered at her, and she chirped a cheerful, _"You're welcome!" _back at me.

"Why are you here, Thals? I thought that you had a special mission," Annabeth spoke as we neared the creamy white and red buildings where the dorms were.

I bit the inside of my lip trying to collect my thoughts. "I need help," I confessed to the curly blonde. "I'm not sure what to do next. This mission was so… unexpected. So unorganised. There's no prophecy, no order… I'm not sure whether this thing is even a quest!"

Annabeth frowned and turned her head to face me. "But wasn't Apollo the one who issued this quest? Surely there must be a prophecy."

"There isn't," I snapped, sighing irritably. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Annabeth breathe in sharply and immediately I felt guilty. "Sorry. I'm just stressed. I don't even know how much time I've got til Gaea awakens. I don't know where to go next or what to do." I sighed again. I felt seemingly lost, like a puppy.

"It's okay," Annabeth seemed to perk up slightly and she gave me a reassuring smile. "Come on, we're here."

We were in the centre of what looked like the dorms- red bricked one story housing with columns and arches as doors. Some half-bloods were walking about the entrances and strangely I saw a few translucent people emit a faint bluish-green aura. Annabeth ignored them and walked to the middle building, a creamy white house with marble steps. We jogged up the stairs, China leaving her signature muddy paw print on a few pristine steps.

Brushing aside the gauze-like curtains, Annabeth led the way into the office. The interior of the room was made of white marble. Banners with mottos written in Latin were strung on the walls, along with maps scribbled and dotted in colourful markers. A long wooden bookshelf bearing a load of books was on one side of the room, and two large desks- one silver and the other gold- were facing each other in the centre of the room. Tall high backed chairs that looked like miniature thrones were the chairs behind the desks. They looked uncomfortable, and I was glad that I didn't have to sit there all day. The room was dark and lit only by the skylights cut into the top of the roof, and by some fire torches at the entrance.

Annabeth was perched on the corner of the silver desk, rifling through some papers. In her hand was a small metal paperweight, and looking closely at it there was a small painting of a trident with sparkling blue bubbles carved around it.

"This is Seaweed Brain's desk?" I asked Annabeth, plucking the paperweight from her hand and admiring Tyson's artwork.

"Uh-huh," she replied, finding a light blue coloured ballpoint pen. Annabeth then pulled a fresh sheet of paper from a drawer and brushed aside Percy's paperwork, making a clear space for her to work. "Okay, Thalia. You asked me for help and now I'm going to help you."

I nodded mutely as she began to write down a few dot points on the piece of paper. "Hmm." She said, frowning and twirling a strand of her hair. "You said there was no prophecy. So how did you first know of this… mission?"

I walked over to Percy's chair and plopped myself on it, placing my head in my hands and rubbing my temples. "In a dream. Like those ones Percy had, the prophetic ones."

"What did you see?"

"The world… It was split into two… It was horrible. There were four people -_gods-_ and they were fighting." I replied, trying to remember everything.

"Those four people. They were gods, weren't they?" Annabeth scribbled down a few more notes and began brain storming. "Alright. Well-"

"Wait, Annabeth," I lifted my head up and caught her gaze. "China, here," I gestured towards my mottled grey companion. "She worked out some kind of compass thing. Like our gods, the Greek ones, they represent the Western civilization, and Carlos, his gods represent the South compass point, for South America. Does that make sense?"

She gave me a quick nod, already on to sketching a compass. I watched her as she drew the points, writing "Greek & Roman" on the West and "Aztec" on the South point. "Now we need to work out the rest," she murmured, looking thoughtfully at the huge world map covering the back wall of the room. "Can you remember what the other gods looked like?"

"No. Not really. The dream is little more than a wispy memory. All I can remember is…" I closed my eyes. What was it? I remember recognising one god other than my father. If only…

My eyes flew open as I glanced up at the world map. My eyes flitted through the countries, the words blaring out at me in bold print. Finally they settled on one country, just at the top of Africa.

"Egypt." Annabeth whispered. Her eyes had followed my movements and she was now writing "EGYPT" at the top of the North point.

"Hey, why North?" I asked her, standing up and stretching as I made my way to her.

"Well, when you look at the map, Egypt is near the top. The orientation of the compass when placed on a world map points up, so therefore it should be north. South America is south; Greek is west, because it is on the West side of the world. So now East should be around here." Annabeth pointed around to the whole of Asia and Australia. "I'm not exactly sure where the Eastern gods are, but around that side of the world is your best bet."

I grinned at her. "Thanks, Anna." I let out a breath. "So, it seems like I'm heading to Cairo, right?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. I don't know any other place with strong Egyptian influence."

I let a small smile tug at my lips as I thought of Cairo. Images flashed around my mind when I thought of Egypt, like a small projector was displaying them. Sun, hot, desert, dry, mummies, pharaohs and the Egyptian animal-like gods.

"Thanks, Anna. You're the best." I said, making my way out of the room, China padding behind me. The wise blonde gave a brief nod and gave a cheerful wave.

China had a wolf grin on her face as she accompanied me to see Percy. _"We're off to see the Egyptians, the wonderful Egyptians of Oz!" _


End file.
